SPINIFEX

Spinifex is a type of grass with stiff,spiky leaves. They live in central Australia and can survive in dry arid soil. These plants are the only things stopping our deserts becoming a pile of shifting sand.There are 64 diffrent species of sinifex which is alot

BEHAVURAL ADAPTATIONS

​​Spinifex only release their seeds after there has been a lot of rain. They do this so that the seeds have moist soil to grow in. During their first dry season spinifex curl inward to create a hollow tube-like shape. Doing this will stop all the water from evaporating.

​STRUCTURAL ADAPTATIONS
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Each shoot has it’s own water supply to make sure the spinifex has enough water to keep it alive. The roots can grow up to 3 meters deep. This helps it to reach water deep underground. Spinifex have very sharp leaves, which keeps animals away because if they come to close they could get holes in their skin. The leaves are also covered in silica so that they don’t bend when it gets windy

THREATS
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Spinifex only have one threat. Termites are the only animal that can eat this grass and if any other creature tries to eat spinifex they will get a small tummy ach for around half an hour.

source

http://www.expedition360.com/australia_lessons_science/2001/09/spinifex.html

http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/kids/nature/plants/spinifex.shtml

http://biology-adaptations-telkington.weebly.com/soft-spinifex.html

http://www.qmdc.org.au/publications/download/7/fact-sheets-case-studies/flora-fauna/spinifex-grasslands.pdf