Different Flower Climates

Plants play the most important role in the cycle of nature; without plants, there would be no life. Scientists estimate there are more than 260,000 varieties of plants in the world.

Weather is the most important factor in a plant's environment, which includes sunlight and temperature. Because of this, the world is divided into biomes, or plant and flower climates, each producing diverse plant life.

Tundra

The Arctic tundra is the world's youngest biome. This climate is the coldest and driest, with the ground permanently frozen beneath the top layer of soil. Summer in this biome is short, so plant life receives minimal sunlight. It is unusually dry, so plants have a short growing season. There is a lack of nutrients in the soil. Because of this, mostly shrubs, sedges, mosses, grasses and lichens grow in the tundra flower climate.

Some plants that grow in this flower climate are:

• Arctic Moss
• Arctic Willow
• Bearberry
• Caribou Moss
• Diamond-leaf Willow
• Labrador Tea
• Pasque Flower
• Tufted Saxifrage

Taiga

Taiga is the Russian word for forest and is the largest biome in the world. It is located just below the tundra, so they share some qualities. This plant climate is dominated mostly by cold, arctic air. The taiga is characterized by cold winters with a lot of snowfall and warm, humid and rainy summers. Conifers thrive in this climate, which is also known as the boreal forest. Besides conifers, there are few plant species because of the harsh weather conditions. This climate also experiences many wildfires, so trees have adapted by growing thick bark.

Plants common in this climate are:

• Balsam Fir
• Black Spruce
• Douglas-fir
• Eastern Red Cedar
• Jack Pine
• Paper Birch
• Siberian Spruce
• White Fir
• White Poplar
• White Spruce

Grasslands

Grassland flower climates can be found in three areas of the world, and each has different characteristics. They are the Prairies of North America, the Steppes of Europe and Asia and the Pampas of South America. Grassland is an expansive, rolling terrain of grasses, flowers and herbs. Factors such as latitude, soil and local climates determine what grows in particular grassland areas. The soil is generally too thin and dry for trees to survive.

There are two varieties of grassland climates: tall-grass, which are humid and very wet, and short-grass, which are dry and have hotter summers and colder winters.

Steppes

This type of grassland is found mostly in the United States, Mongolia, Siberia, Tibet and China. It is windy with warm summers and cold winters.

Plants common to this flower climate are:

• Fringed Sagebrush
• Milk Vetch
• Sweet Vernal
• Rhubarb
• Tumbleweed

North American Prairie

This type of grassland is found in the middle of North America. Only one to two percent remains because of urbanization. The natural state of this flower climate is maintained by grazing and fires.

Typical plants are:

• Big Bluestem Grass
• Blue Grama Grass
• Buffalo Grass
• Indian Grass
• Fleabane
• Milkweed
• Purple Coneflower
• Stinging Nettle

Pampas

Pampas means level plain. This grassland, which is found primarily in Argentina, is humid and warm, with a dry season in the summertime. It currently is endangered because it has been cultivated for cropland.

Common plants include:

• Cattails
• Water Lilies
• Reeds
• Pampas Grass

Deciduous Forest

This biome, also called the temperate forest, can be found in every continent except Africa and Antarctica. The deciduous forest experiences all four distinct seasons. Trees loose their leaves in late fall or early winter.

This plant and flower climate is divided into five zones:

• Tree Stratum Zone
• Small Tree and Sapling Zone
• Shrub Zone
• Herb Zone
• Ground Zone

The soil is extremely fertile in this climate. Because of this, most deciduous forests have been chopped down for agricultural purposes.

Common plants in the deciduous forest are:

• Carpet Moss
• American Beech
• Guelder Rose
• Lady Fern
• Pecan
• Northern Arrowwood
• White Birch

Chaparral

The chaparral biome can be found in each continent. It contains many types of terrain, ranging from flat plains to rocky hills and mountain slopes. It is known to have mild winters and hot, dry summers, making fires common; plants have adapted to this by having small, hard leaves which hold moisture.

This flower climate boasts plants such as:

• Blue Oak
• Coyote Brush
• Sagebrush
• Olive Trees
• Lebanon Cedar
• Mountain Mahogany
• Torrey Pine
• King Protea

Desert

Desert landscapes cover about one-fifth of the Earth's surface. There are two types: hot and dry deserts and cold deserts. Hot and dry deserts, such as the Sahara, receive very little rainfall. Cold deserts actually receive quite a bit of snowfall in winter and are found in the basin and range areas of Utah and Nevada and parts of Western Asia. Vegetation in hot and dry deserts is mostly ground-hugging shrubs. Many plants are able to survive in the extreme weather because they can store water in their leaves for long periods of time.

Plants common in desert climates are:

• Barrel Cactus
• Brittle Bush
• Chain Fruit Cholla
• Crimson Hedgehog Cactus
• Joshua Tree
• Mojave Aster
• Ocotillo
• Soaptree Yucca

Savanna

Savanna plant climates are rolling grasslands scattered with trees and shrubs. There is not enough rainfall to support full forests. Savannas can be found in wide bands on either side of the equator, near the edges of tropical rainforests. This climate is warm year-round and has only two seasons: a long dry season (winter) and a wet season (summer). Savannas are located in Australia, Africa and South America. The plants growing here are highly specialized, with long tap roots, thick bark and water-storing trunks.

Such plants are:

• Acacia Senegal
• Baobab
• Bermuda Grass
• Elephant Grass
• Gum Tree Eucalyptus
• Jarrah Tree
• Kangaroo Paw
• Whistling Thorn

Rainforest

This biome now covers less than six percent of the Earth's surface. Rainforests are tropical, wet and humid climates located near the equator in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. Rainforests consist of more than 70 percent trees. There are four layers within the rainforest flower climate; they are the emergent layer, the upper canopy, the understory and the forest floor. Plants here are highly specialized, having oily or grooved leaves so the large amount of rainfall won't break them.

Some specific plants are:

• Bengal Bamboo
• Coconut Tree
• Durian
• Jambu
• Kapok Tree
• Mangroves
• Strangler Figs
• Tualang

Alpine

Alpine climates are cold, windy and snowy, much like a typical winter. They are found in mountainous regions all over the world, such as the Himalayan, Andes and Rocky Mountains. These climates exist at usually 10,000 feet or higher, and the temperature can change from warm to freezing in one day. Because of the high altitude, there is little carbon dioxide in the air, resulting in only about 200 plant species. Most of these are perennial ground-cover plants that grow and reproduce slowly. The soil is rocky, sandy and dry.

Some plants that grow in this flower climate are:

• Alpine Phacelia
• Bear Grass
• Bristlecone Pine
• Moss Campion
• Pygmy Bitterroot
• Wild Potato