Explain the term plasticity.

Answer: Plasticity is the ability of plants to follow different pathways in response to the environment or to different phases of life and form different kinds of structures.

The best example is heterophylly, the presence of different shapes of leaves on the same plant:

• Developmental (phase-dependent) heterophylly: leaves of the juvenile plant differ from those of the mature plant, e.g. cotton, coriander, larkspur.
• Environmental heterophylly: submerged and aerial leaves of the same plant differ, e.g. buttercup (Ranunculus), water plants.