Plants Adaptations
- Many plant species are found in the boreal forest, but coniferous trees are obviously the dominant plant form.
- These trees shed snow easily, and they retain their needles through the winter.
- The needles themselves are well-adapted, with thick waxy coatings and small surface area, to resist cold conditions and minimize water loss, an important consideration even in the swampy taiga where water may be frozen much of the year.
- Broadleaf plants usually lose their leaves at the onset of freezing conditions in the fall and will not regrow them until most of the danger of frost has passed.