Sciophytes, or shade-loving plants, have developed several anatomical, morphological, and physiological adaptations to low light conditions. They tend to have larger, thinner leaves with more chlorophyll to maximize light absorption. Their foliage often remains evergreen to capture light during winter. Sciophytes generally prefer acid, organic-rich soil and can be found in humid or poorly drained areas. While some tolerate only full shade, others need some sun to flower but perform best in partial shade. Their adaptations allow sciophytes to efficiently utilize the limited sunlight available on forest floors.

1. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science &
Technology University, Gopalganj-8100
“SCIOPHYTES”
PRESENTATION ON
Submitted by:
Pranto Das
ID:20151220054

2. What are sciophytes?
 Sciophytes are shade-loving trees or plants. These plants have larger
photosynthetic units than sun plants or heliophytes. Sciophytes are
also called shade plant.
 Sciophytes are also known as photophobous plants and they reach
their saturation level in only 20% sunlight.
 Sciophytes, also called shade-loving plants, are those plants with
special ecological adaptation to reduced light intensity or partial sun.
 Commercially grown crops associated with this plant classification
include the black pepper (Piper nigrum), cacao (Theobroma cacao),
coffee (Coffea spp.), lanzones (Lansium domesticum), mangosteen
(Garcinia mangostana), soursop (Annona muricata), hot pepper
(Capsicum annuum)and ginger (Zingiber officinale).

3. Some Sciophytes(Shade loving plant)
Black pepper Ginger
Pteris
clubmoss

4. Characteristics of sciophytes(Shade Plants)

5. 1.Foliage
 Those plants that grow in shade often have thinner foliage
with more surface area.
 They contain more chlorophyll than those leaves receiving
full sun as the shade plant foliage is more efficient in
harvesting sunlight at low light levels.
 Shade plants are also typically are evergreen, retaining their
leaves through winter to capture the sunlight and
"manufacture food during the only time of the year when
sunlight is abundant to them – when the deciduous trees are
bare," according to Homestead Gardens.
 The food that is made for the plant during this time is stored
away to use later in the season when the trees leaf out and
deny the shade plants most of their sunlight.
Characteristics of sciophytes(Shade Plants)

6. Sun Plants
more Rubisco
less chlorophyll
small leaves
Shade plants
less Rubisco
more chlorophyll
large leaves
creosote arum

7. 2.Soil
 Shade plants are acid-loving, as they grow in the top thin layer of the
forest floor that is made from compost and organic matter. As a result,
they thrive in low pH, organically rich soil.
 Many shade plants are typically found growing near streams, bogs and
ponds where the soil is moist with a high organic content and "hold
moisture better than organic-poor soils," according to Homestead
Gardens.
 Shade plants also are found in poorly drained soil and in areas where
the amount of rainfall and humidity is high.
 Some shade plants can be found in soil that is overly hard or porous,
like below mature trees that block the amount of water from reaching
the forest floor and whose roots absorb most of the water.

8. 3.Degrees of Shade
 Shade plants vary in the amount of shade they prefer. Some shade plants
thrive in full shade where they prefer little sun for the entire day.
 These plants typically have large leaves, slow growth rate and nonshowy
flowers.
 They also have "little tolerance to exposure to bright sunlight for long
periods and become stressed in such situations," according to Homestead
Gardens.
 Other shade plants thrive in part-sun areas where they need some sunlight
to grow. These plants have the potential to perform well in full shade, but do
not grow or bloom to their fullest potential. Examples of these shade plants
are azaleas, where they prefer mostly shade conditions but because they
produce their flowers in spring, need 4 hours of sunlight per day to produce
their flowers.

9. Adaptation of Sciophytes
 Sciophytes are often unable to survive in full sunlight because
their rate of chlorophyll production is too slow to balance the
decomposition of the pigment by bright light.
 In order to make the most efficient use of the light available,
sciophytes develop large leaves with extensive surfaces
containing a high concentration of chlorophyll and accessory
pigment.
 Photosynthesis is such plants ensure that the best use is made of
light available from sunflecks and reflection.

11. a)Lens-shaped epidermal cells
Optical phenomena occur at a
fine microscopic scale within the
leaf. Individual epidermal cells
can act as lenses that focus light
into and within the mesophyll.
This is a relatively widespread
occurrence, but is especially
prevalent among understorey
plants. Leaves with this
characteristic often have a
glossy appearance.
1.Anatomical adaptation of Sciophytes

12. b)Red abaxial layer of sciophyte
leaves :
Not only is the light intensity low on a
forest floor, it is also poor in
photosynthetically active wavelengths.
Those available are mainly of longer
wavelength, and lie in the red region of
the optical spectrum. It is therefore to
be expected that plants growing in this
habitat will show adaptations
enhancing the utilization of red light.

14. a)Leaf morphology
Asymmetric leaf bases and anisophylly (unequal leaves at each
node in species with opposite leaves) are more common in forest
understorey and other shady habitats than in sunny
environments. Leaf blade is usually large and thin.
b)Colour patterns and indumentum
As the effective cost of leaf tissue lost to herbivory is larger in
slow growing shade plants than in sun plants, shade-adapted
species must allocate more to defence than sun-adapted species.
Pubescence (hairiness) can increase the reflectance of light from
the leaf surface. Shade plants seldom show pubescence.
2.Morphological adaptation of Sciophytes

16. Some Physical Differences Between Sun and Shade Plants
Some plants produce "sun leaves" in direct sun and "shade leaves" where the leaves are
shaded by others.
 Shade leaves are typically larger in area, but thinner than sun leaves. Sun leaves become
thicker than shade leaves because they develop longer palisade cells or an additional
layer of palisade cells.
 On a weight basis, shade leaves generally have more chlorophyll. (This is because the
chloroplasts have more grana - you can look this up in a more advanced text book if you
would like to know the details of chloroplast structure).
 In shade leaves, the chloroplasts move within the cells to take up a position where they
will absorb the maximum light without shading other chloroplasts below them. (In sun
leaves, the chloroplasts take turns in the bright light and then shelter in the shade of
others whilst they make use of the light they have absorbed - too much bright light would
destroy the chloroplasts).
 Sun and shade leaves can differ in the amount of photosynthesis by a factor of up to 5 -
for the same amount of light.
 Most of these adaptations take place during leaf development - there is little a leaf (or a
plant) can do if its light conditions change.