Q.What are the three ecological groups of plants?

Plants are classed as hydrophytes, mesophytes, or xerophytes depending on how much water is available in the habitat they grow in.

Water availability in the habitat is one of the most important ecological factors shaping a plant's structure and physiology, and plants are traditionally grouped into three classes based on it:

1. HYDROPHYTES - plants adapted to grow in water or very wet, waterlogged habitats (e.g. Hydrilla, Nymphaea, Eichhornia); they typically have reduced/absent cuticle, well-developed aerenchyma (air spaces) for buoyancy and gas exchange, and reduced root systems.

2. MESOPHYTES - plants of habitats with a moderate, adequate water supply, neither too wet nor too dry (most ordinary land plants and crops fall here); they show a balanced structure with a moderate cuticle, well-developed vascular and root systems, and normally functioning stomata.

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