Students who had difficulty explaining how the special features of wild ginger helped it survive tended to simply repeat either the information about the special feature, or parts of the text, as the explanation. In the case of the rhizomes we accepted answers that referred to reproduction as correct, even though many of these answers were simply repetition of information given. The reasoning behind this was the unfamiliarity of rhizomes at this level.
Two misconceptions about rhizomes were identified. Some students thought they served the same function as roots and gave the plant an advantage because they could reach water that was a long way away. Others thought the rhizomes allowed the ginger to strangle the roots of native plants.

Many students said the feature "grows quickly" helped wild ginger because this also meant it matured quickly and therefore produced seeds quickly. This was counted as a correct response because it seemed to indicate logical thinking in a context where students would have little background information.