Hello, today we are going to learn about what are the major adaptations of cactus which makes them comfortable in a desert environment. Cactus can easily tolerate extremely hot environments in desert and low water availability.
Most of the plants are not able to tolerate such extreme conditions so they do not grow in the desert but cacti are found in desert here and there. Now we will list all adaptations of cactus which gives them the power to grow in the desert.
Root system, stem, leaves everything in the cactus highly adapted to take the tough challenges in the desert.
Table of Contents
Adaptation in Leaves:
Have you noticed a leaf life structure in cactus, no. Actually their leaves are not similar to that of the other plants. The pointed structure, spine you can see are their actual leaves. Their leaves are modified into spine for some benefits.
We know that a lot of water evaporates through transpiration by the stomata present in leaves. But water is not available easily in the desert so they should protect the water loss through the process of transpiration. Spines prevent water loss by transpiration in cactus plants.
Spines also have other important functions. They trap the air which restricts airflow and prevent transpiration. During early morning the spine traps dew from fog which gathers in the bottom of the plant body in the soil and is absorbed by the root system of the cactus.
Now think who performs photosynthesis in the cactus because the spine can not perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis in cactus occurs in fleshy green stem but herbivorous animals try to graze the fleshy stem.
Spine then performs its defence responsibility because nobody likes to be hurt by the spine present in the cactus until they are adapted to feed the cactus neglecting the spine.
Adaptation in Roots of Cactus:
In desert water availability is very poor. Rain also occurs suddenly, not regularly. Cacti try to absorb all the rain water during rain. They spread their roots upto long area but roots are not very deep.
Because to collect all the rain water they need roots on ground level on large areas not very deep roots. And after rain they do not require that extensive root system so they wither away after rain. During rain their roots can grow at a very fast rate to spread along the ground.
Special Position of Stomata:
Photosynthesis performed by stem in cactus and gaseous exchange occurs through the stomata present on their fleshy stems. But what will happen if a lot of water starts to lose through the stomata present on their stems.
It does not occur because their stomata are present deep in the tissue and they open during night. This special behaviour of stomata present in cactus saves them from a lot of water loss.
Adaptation for Water Storage:
Stem of cactus are flat and fleshy which store water in their collapsible water storage cells. When they get more water can easily be stored inside the stem because the stem becomes thicker to accommodate extra water.
Thick Layer of Waxy Substances:
Their stem coated with waxy substances but they are absent on the stomatal areas which protects water loss through evaporation.
Limited Growth:
Have you noticed that growth in the cactus is stunted. Because a lot of water is necessary for extra growth but water is not available in sufficient amounts in the desert. So cacti do not grow at a fast rate.
In other plants they have a long growing season but in case of cactus growing season is very short because they do not get much water for growth. Rather than they grow much they store the water which can be used during water shortage.
Resource: Adaptations of Cactus for Desert
Read More: Adaptation of Plants in different Environment
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