Almost all of the plants I observed were tall. This helps them reach more sunlight, as there are fewer things obstruction the light's path toward them. The one plant that I observed that was not tall was what I believe to be Giant Knotweed, had leaves that were far larger than the other plants I observed, which I belive is to allow the plant to catch much more sunlight from the ground than the other plants I observed would be able to if they were the same height. Maple trees are in the family Sapindaceae, while black maples are more specifically the genus Acer and the species nigrum. This is a type of flowering plant, in the subphylum angiospermae.
I chose to search for the phylogeny of the Silver Maple, (Northern Sugar Maple) also known as Acer Saccharium. Just like the Red Maple that has the most recent common ancestor as the Silver Maple, this tree derives from the family of Sapindals, included in the rosids, being part of Lan Plants, so finally belongs to the immense radiation of green plants.
On another hand, taking a look at most of the observations in the projects, we can say that these plants obviously differ from each other. This should be because of their different environments and the different factors affecting them. However, what I think groups them all together is their exposure to light. Most of these plants tend to extend horizontally ( as the grape vines for ex) or vertically (mostly for trees with thorn leaves), as if it is to capture the maximum amount of light possible.
Moreover, I noticed that pine trees have a special adaptation to protect their fruits. Their thorn leaves, sharp at the end, prevent birds from accessing the fruit and eating the seeds in the pines.
