Water Lily

Water lilies demonstrate phenotypic plasticity through leaf structure: submerged leaves grow narrow and flexible (reducing drag in water currents), while surface leaves grow broad and flat (maximizing light capture for photosynthesis). The plant senses water pressure and light levels, building different structures accordingly.

Same genome, same plant, different leaf phenotypes based on environmental position. This illustrates how organisms can optimize for different conditions without genetic change - a parallel to organizations that can express different strategies using the same capabilities.