Desert plants are split up into 2 main categories, according to the way they adapt to survive drought.
some examples are as follows:
Seeds: a species of plants persist only as seeds, and germinates very quickly when rain falls. These drought evaders flower fast and produce another batch of seeds. When drought strikes, these flowers wither and die. Then, the new batch of seeds go through the same process.
Evolving: some desert plants evolve, or more commonly known as adapt, to the conditions. Some of these plants have thick, fleshy stems which are made to store water in case of drought. Not only is water stored in stems, but also the leaves. Leaves are sometimes shed so that the need for water is not so important. The roots also grow especially long so that they can stretch deep to find water sources. These plants are called drought resisters.
Perennials: perennials are plants that can thrive through dry seasons but still grow bigger. Of these plants, the succulents (known for their juiciness) are a small fraction of perennials.
An example of perennials is the night-blooming cerus.
Appearance: Cacti come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from 15cm to 1cm. Most of such cacti take up thick, cylindrical or spherical forms, which reduces the rate of transipiration. The surfaces of many of these plants are spiny, and a little bit like the accordion.
Roots: Many of the root systems in desert plants are widespread and shallow as only about 3% of the rain will penetrate the desert ground, and only to a certain level.
Leaves: Many desert plants resort to minute leaves to reduce to water loss by transpiration. The stems and twigs of a plant, paloverde (spanish for "green trunk") contain chlorophyll so that photosynthesis can take place and the plant can survive.
Adaptations: Most desert flora like Prickly Pears, Desert Holly and Brittlebush are examples of xerophytes. Xerophytes are plants that adapt to the conditions of a desert, for example, by having tap roots to penetrate to the water table if present.
Here is some pictures of a cactus planst adapting to the desert conditions with different plant parts.
the picture above shows how a cactus plants' leaves were reduced to needle-like structures so that during little water will be loss during transpiration. As it is extremely warm in the desert, the rate of transpiration is very high. Thus, the leaves adapt to the conditions by reducing themselves to spiny structures.
The picture of the cactus stem above is fleshy and juicy, so we can tell that its water content is high. When it is the rainy season in the desert, the cactus plant absorbs a lot of water and the excess is stored in different parts of the plant, and in this case the stem.
The roots of the cactus are long and stretch out wide and deep. The function of these roots is to find sources of water when water is hard to obtain. The roots absorb all the water, and the remaining excess water is stored in the respective area.
Source: Life In the Desert (plants in the sun)
wikipedia, google
Adaptations: Most desert flora like Prickly Pears, Desert Holly and Brittlebush are examples of xerophytes. Xerophytes are plants that adapt to the conditions of a desert, for example, by having tap roots to penetrate to the water table if present.
Here is some pictures of a cactus planst adapting to the desert conditions with different plant parts.
the picture above shows how a cactus plants' leaves were reduced to needle-like structures so that during little water will be loss during transpiration. As it is extremely warm in the desert, the rate of transpiration is very high. Thus, the leaves adapt to the conditions by reducing themselves to spiny structures.
The picture of the cactus stem above is fleshy and juicy, so we can tell that its water content is high. When it is the rainy season in the desert, the cactus plant absorbs a lot of water and the excess is stored in different parts of the plant, and in this case the stem.
The roots of the cactus are long and stretch out wide and deep. The function of these roots is to find sources of water when water is hard to obtain. The roots absorb all the water, and the remaining excess water is stored in the respective area.
Source: Life In the Desert (plants in the sun)
wikipedia, google
