Question

Explain how the desert plants have adapted to the hot dry environment of the desert.

Answer 1

Adaptation in desert plants:

1. Adaptation is the development of particular features or habits which enables a living organism to survive better in its habitat.
2. The plants commonly found in deserts adapt features that will protect them against the extremely hot and dry weather around there.
3. The characteristics which allow the desert plants to survive in the hot dry environment of a desert are:-

Adaptation in leaves:

1. The leaves of plants are reduced to a needle-like structure known as spines or thorns.
2. These thorns protect grazing animals and reduce the loss of water from the leaves through transpiration.

Adaptation in stems:

1. In the hot desert plant growing have leaves reduced to the spine or in some cases it is completely absent, therefore, the leaves are unavailable for photosynthesis.
2. The stems of these plants are modified to perform the functions of leaves, they become green, thick, and fleshy to perform photosynthesis.

Adaptation in roots:

1. The roots of desert plants are long and penetrate deep inside the soil to maximize the absorption of water from the soil.