Plant+Adaptations+and+Advantages+Desert

__**Succulence **__

In Botany, having thick, fleshy, water-storing leaves or stems is known as having succulence (D5). Plants that store water in their leaves, roots, or stems are classified as succulents.Many desert plants, including all variations of cacti are succulents.These plants have leaves and stems that have a waxy coating on them, this is used to hold the water in and prevent evaporation while stomates are closed. Their leaves are also smaller to allow for less surface area that sunlight may hit.Their shallow roots allow for water to be absorbed quickly after a rainfall, before it can be evaporated by the scorching sunlight and high temperatures.Succulence is used by plants with Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, also known as CAM, which is a “water-efficient variant of photosynthesis” (D1). These plants will open their stomates at night, when it is cool, to assist in gas exchange. They also store carbon dioxide in their cells during this time. CAM plants close their stomates during day and night when they are lacking water. “Gas exchange and water loss nearly cease” (D1). It only takes 24 to 48 hours for these plants to return to normal after a rainfall. Animals will try and steal the water from these plans so they have developed spiny exteriors and toxic interiors. Some plants in the desert will grow in inaccessible locations;Others use camouflage to hide from the animals trying to steal their water. Some desert plants that are classified as succulents are as follows:
 * 1) **Aloe Vera**, a variety of cactus that has thick leaves with a waxy coating. They contain a gel-like inside that can be used to treat sunburn, and has many health benefits.
 * 2) **Haworthia Truncata**, a succulent plant that grows in the Little Karoo region. That is the east side of the Western Cape Province in South Africa (D8).
 * 3) **Saguaro**, a succulent cactus that grows in many deserts around the world. This symbol of Arizona can grow to be over 40 feet tall (D9).



Aloe Vera (D6)



Haworthia Truncata (D7)



Saguaro (D10)

__**Drought Tolerance **__ Drought tolerance is a plant's ability to withstand extreme dryness without dying. Many plants shed their leaves to conserve water loss due to most water loss coming from transpiration through leaves (D1).Plants that don’t shed leaves have other ways of staving off water loss such as covering their leaves with wax to conserve water (D2) as seen in the Yucca plant (D3). Other plants use hairs to reflect sunlight to prevent transpiration through the leaves (D3) as well as trap water on the leaves (D2) as seen in the brittle bush plant. Some plants such as mesquite have extremely deep root systems so that they can reach water deposits that contain water that would have already evaporated if it was located closer to the surface (D1).

Yucca plant (D3)



Brittle bush plant (D4)

__**Drought Avoidance **__

“Annual plants are plants with a life cycle that lasts only one year. They grow from seed, bloom, produce seeds, and die in one growing season. They then need to be replanted each spring” (D11). Their life cycle lasts just one season; they die after producing seeds. For example, most Sonoran Desert annuals will grow for a short time in the fall. During this time there has to be a rain of one inch or more for most species. Annuals only bloom in areas that have dry seasons, because the perennial plants growing times are determined by the space required to get enough moisture. Half of the Sonoran Desert's flora is annual species (D1). These plants include but are not limited to:
 * 1) **Desert Marigolds**, an annual species of plant that is 10-30 inches tall. It has hairy leaves important for blocking UV rays (D12).
 * 2) **Arizona Poppies**, an annual species that blooms from July to October in Arizona. They have orange flowers similar to those of the California Poppy. They may be yards tall and spread several yards around the base of the plant (D14).
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Grande,sans-serif;">**Firewheel (Indian Blankets)**, grow up to three feet tall and have a hairy stem with leaves near the base. These flowers are red in the center with rays of red on most of the flower. They have yellow tips with three “teeth” at the end (D16).



<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Desert Marigolds (D13)



<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;">Arizona Poppy (D15)



<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Grande,sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline;"> Firewheel (D17)

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