The Beach and Foredune
Abiotic Conditions and Adaptations
It is windy and hot on the beach and the foredune. It is hard for plants to live in as well as animals, due to its hostile environment. For a plant to survive, it must grow up and down, meaning the roots must grow deep and be stable. It needs to have small leaves because the small leaves can hold water. The leaf needs to be thick and wavy so it can flow with the wind. It must be able to grow with a lot of sunlight and it must grow in heat.
Worm wood
Worm wood is a plant that can live in the abiotic conditions. It has a deep root system. It has small leaves which can hold water and because the leaves are small the wind can't do much damage to the wormwood. It has a smooth leaf and has multiple leaflets and one leaf. The worm wood is and aqua green blue color and has a red stem. They are usually a foot tall. They grow in the fore dune and the beach.
The Cotton Wood
The Cotton wood tree can be found in the fore dune. The cotton wood tree is a very unique tree. It has a deep root system and when sand buries the tree, the branches that are buried become roots. The leaves are very waxy and thick. They are a medium sized leaf. The waxy thick leaf allows itself to flow with the wind. Because the leaves are also small they hold water which is great for the hot weather.
Bearberry
Bearbeary is one of the many plants that reside in the mid high-dune. The plant grows an eddible beary durring the summer time. Bearberry got its name by beeing one of favorit food source for bears. Since this shrub is found on the mid highdune were it is constently exposed to sunlight and heat, the plant has adabted by having waxy coated leaves so that no water can escape. These types of plants grow together in groups so it is easy to identify, their leaves are realy small and their berries are green but turn red when they mature.
Beach Pea
www.easttennesseewildflowers.com
The beach pea has a green stem and about 50-70 cm long. It has a waxy leaf and has about 2-4 leaflets on each leaf. The flower has a dark purpled standard pedal, a paler purple wing, and a keel pedal. It has a deep root system and the leaves are small, which is great for holding water. That is especially important on the beach because it gets hot and it is hard to survive without water. The deep root system also helps because it more moist, there is more water under the sand. So the deep roots pick up that water and use it.
Sea Rocket
It has a green stem and a green leaf. It has a white with a hint of pink flower on it. The flower is very small and blooms in July to September. It is a naive plant and grows on the beach. The leaf is small which will hold water very well. It has thick layers. The plant dies every year and releases seeds. The seeds can take up to 20 even 30 years to grow, but most of the time its just 1 or 2 years.
Piping Plover
www.tringa.org
The Piping Plover is a white bellied bird with a grey back. They have a black stripe on the neck and the forehead with an orange beak with a black spot on the tip. They have orange legs. It builds its nests higher on the shore in the fore dune near beach grasses so it can stay hidden from people. The piping plover is an endangered bird because the beaches they live in are disturbed.