Phylogenetic Origin and Adaptation

My journal here is based on the species Ageratina altissima, which is a flowering plant. It is commonly known as White Snakeroot. It could be commonly found on Mont-Royal. It is a poisonous North American herb of the aster family

Phylogenetic Origin: It is a species in the order of Asterales and the family of Asteraceae. It is in genus Ageratina and the species Altissima. It is located next to Ageratina proba and Ageratina miquihuana in the phylogenetic tree.

General adaptation of flowering plants I have observed: All plants we have observed have bright colour petals, such as white, purple and yellow. I supposed all of them are insect-pollinated flowers. Bright petals allow the flower to attract insects such as butterflies and bees to visit so that pollen grains produced by the flowers can adhere to the insects' bodies. When the insects visit other flowers to collect the nectar, the pollen grains on the bodies will stick to the stigma of another flower of the same species and thus fertilization can occur. Therefore, the flowers can reproduce and give rise to the next generation.

Unique adaptation of Ageratina altissima: White Snakeroot contains the toxin tremeto making it poisonous to humans and grazing animals such as cattle. As when grazing is scarce, the cattle may consume white snakeroots. The toxins cause illness, trembles, in cows and thus prevent them from consuming the flowers themselves again. This is a kind of physiological adaptation of white snakeroots for self-defence. Therefore, the flowers themselves can survive for a longer time and reproduce to give rise to the next generation.

Posted on September 19, 2021 09:26 PM by sixsuet sixsuet

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