Leaves Protect From Herbivory

large green leaves are nestled in a lush green surroundings

Biological Strategy

Nettle family

AskNature Team

Image: Harryp2 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY - Creative Commons Attribution alone

Protect From Animals

Animals–organisms that range from microscopic to larger than a bus–embody a wide variety of harms to living systems, including other animals. They threaten through predation, herbivory, defense, and parasitism, and they compete for resources such as water, nutrients, and space. Any given living organism commonly faces threats from a variety of animals, requiring strategies that effectively defend from each. Trout and other bony fish, for example, escape predators by having scales made of very thin, flake-like pieces of bone covered with slippery mucus. They also have behavioral strategies such as camouflage, fast swimming, and twisting and turning to achieve release from a predator’s grip.

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Flowering Plants

Clade Angiosperms (“receptacle seed”): Dandelions, oaks, grasses, cacti, apples

With 416 families containing some 300,000 known species, angiosperms are the most diverse group of plants, and they can be found around the globe in a wide variety of habitats. They are characterized by seeds that grow enclosed in ovaries, which are enclosed in flowers. The floral organs then develop into fruits of myriad kinds and dimensions, from simple seed casings on maples to elaborate fleshy growths like papayas. The oldest flower known from fossils, Montsechia vidalii, appeared during the Jurassic Period 130 million years ago. They are the primary food source for herbivorous animals, which in turn makes them the indirect food source for carnivores as well.

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The leaves of the Australian stinging tree and other plants protect themselves from herbivory with venomous stinging hairs.

“There are even more ferocious stingers elsewhere in the world. Tropical Australia has three different species. Some are low bushes. One is a tree that can grow to fifty feet tall. A traveller failing to recognise the large and characteristic heart-shaped leaves and brushing past them is likely to be so badly stung that he may have to be taken to hospital. The poison, like that of the nettle, contains histamine but also other as yet unidentified venoms that cause an intense pain which can last for weeks. There is no known antidote.” (Attenborough 1995:65-66)