Biology · Plant Growth and Development · NEET
Plasticity is the ability of a plant to grow along different developmental pathways and form different kinds of structures in response to its environment or its phase of life. The same plant can produce different shapes at different times or in different conditions. Heterophylly (different leaf shapes on the same plant) is the standard NCERT example of plasticity.
Plasticity is the general ability to develop different structures based on age or environment. Heterophylly is one specific example of that ability — where a single plant produces leaves of more than one shape. So heterophylly is an example of plasticity, not a synonym. Remember: plasticity = the broad ability, heterophylly = the leaf-shape proof of it.
NCERT gives two kinds. (1) Age or life-phase heterophylly: in cotton, coriander and larkspur, the leaves of the young (juvenile) plant differ in shape from the leaves of the mature plant. (2) Environment heterophylly: in buttercup, the leaves formed under water are shaped differently from the leaves formed in air. Both are examples of plasticity.
Buttercup shows heterophylly caused by the environment. The leaves that develop under water are usually thin and finely divided, while the leaves that develop in air are broader. Because the same plant makes different leaf shapes in response to where the leaf grows (water vs air), this is a clear case of environment-driven plasticity.
No. NCERT lists cotton, coriander and larkspur (life-phase heterophylly) and buttercup (environment heterophylly). Maize is NOT named as a plasticity or heterophylly example. NEET 2022 asked exactly this and the answer was Maize as the plant that does NOT show plasticity.
No. Elasticity is a physical property (returning to original shape after stretching) and is not a developmental term in this chapter. Plasticity is a developmental term — the plant changes its growth pathway. In NEET options, 'elasticity', 'maturity' and 'flexibility' are distractors; the correct developmental term is plasticity.
Plants follow different pathways in response to environment or phases of life to form different kinds of structures. This ability is called
Which one of the following plants does not show plasticity?
Heterophyllous development in response to environment is an example of which of the following phenomena?
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
Plasticity is the ability of plants to follow different developmental pathways and form different structures in response to environment or phase of life, with heterophylly as the example.
It is from Class XI, Chapter Plant Growth and Development (NCERT p.173). It is a small but very high-yield line — three NEET years have asked it directly.
Life-phase heterophylly (cotton, coriander, larkspur) is due to plant age; environment heterophylly (buttercup) is due to conditions like water vs air.
Plasticity is a developmental concept, not a growth-rate concept. It is not measured by growth curves; it is judged by the different structures (leaf shapes) the plant produces.
