Plants Around the World

The tundra is the coldest biome. The name tundra comes from the Finnish word for treeless plain. Because of the permafrost (the permanently frozen soil just below the surface soil), only shrubs and other plants with shallow roots can survive here. This dwarf willow grows to about three inches.

Most plants here are evergreens. They don’t lose their needlelike leaves in the winter. This allows them to begin photosynthesis early in spring and to continue the process later into the fall than trees that shed their leaves in winter.

Trees here tower 100 feet or more and are often draped with moss. Ferns and wildflowers grow on the forest floor. 

More than 400 inches of rain can fall in a tropical rain forest every year. Trees tower 250 feet or more. The majority of houseplants come from here.  

Deciduous (di-SI-jeh-wus) trees lose their leaves each autumn. Most deciduous forests have three levels of plant life. In the first level are mosses, ferns, wildflowers, and other small plants that all grow low on the forest floor. Shrubs make up the middle level. Trees such as maple, oak, and birch are in the upper level. 

Deserts are the driest places on Earth. Cacti can live here because their stems have a thick coating that helps them store water longer than most plants. Other plants, such as mesquite trees, survive because they have roots up to 80 feet long, which take in water from deep underground. Pictured is a giant saguaro cactus.

In North America, they’re called prairies. In South America, they’re pampas. In Africa, they’re called veldt, and in Eastern Europe and Asia, steppes. By any name, they’re grasslands. Most of the best farmland is here, where corn, wheat, and other crops are grown to feed the world’s people. 

Savannahs are similar to temperate grasslands. But they have more trees and shrubs and receive more rain. Here, boys in Mozambique thatch a roof with elephant grass. 

These are areas of hot, dry summers and cool, moist winters. They’re home to stubby trees, like these olive trees.

High up a mountain, only evergreens can survive. At the very top, there are only rocks and snow.

Most ocean water is too deep for plants to survive, because it’s too dark for photosynthesis to happen. Giant kelp can grow as deep as 130 feet, if sunlight can reach it.

Nonsalty water, including streams, lakes, ponds, and rivers, support very different kinds of plants. For example, fast-moving rivers and streams are home to plants with strong roots that anchor them to the bottom. Water lilies, with their long stems and floating flowers, are typical of the calm waters of a pond or small lake.