ADAPTATIONS OF PLANTS
Obviously, due to the harsh conditions and climate of the tundra, plants and animals can't immediately thrive in the biome. Thus, in order to survive, the plants and animals adapt. An adaptaion is any physical change an organism goes through, in order to live in certain environments.
ADAPTATIONS TO ENVIRONMENT
These different example of plants presented have very different adaptations to the environment of the tundra.
CARIBOU MOSS - Since caribou moss is a lichen, it already benefits through the mutualism between the fungi and algae coexisting. However, this lichen also has other adaptations. It has surface cells that absorbs moisture and nutrients while living in the rather nutrient-poor soil and long, dry periods.
TUFTED SAXIFRAGE - The tufted saxigrage not only adapted to be small in order to take up less nutrients, but also adapted to grow in groups so each flower can kind of fend off of each other. Tufted saxifrage also forstores carbohydrates so it has food during rather cloudy or dark times. For those who don't know, carbohydrates are a result of photosynthesis, and is what plants use as food. This flower does photosynthesis, but it doesn't have to do much due to this supply. Tufted saxifrage also grows in rocks and crevices, in order to avoid competition with the other plants in the area.
PASQUE FLOWER - The pasque flower is a very strong plant. It has adapted to use only little amounts of water, and it only grows in sandy/gravelly sand, which is god since most of the soil in the tundra isn't very well-developed. The pasque flower also has fine hairs that are used for insulation.
ADAPTATIONS TO CLIMATE
Other examples of plants in the tundra include grasses, small shrubs, arctic moss, arctic willow, bearberry and labrador tea. Although each are very different, all of them have a similar adptation to the climate of the tundra. Since the tundra rarely gets any rain, along with a short growing season, plants have adapted to live without much care, nutrients, and water. These plants also have shallow roots, in order to get the most possible amount of nutrients from the thawed topsoil layer above the permafrost.