Question

Give scientific reasons for the following statement.

In some xerophytes leaves are modified into spines.

Answer 1

Xerophytes:

1. Xerophytes are plants that live in a hot, arid climate.
2. They cannot afford to lose water by transpiration which they absorb from the soil.
3. The leaves of xerophytes are thus reduced to spines to prevent transpiration.
4. Transpiration is the loss of water through the stomata, lenticels, or cuticles of a plant.
5. It leads to excessive loss of water from the plants which causes wilting of the plant.

Final Answer: In some xerophytes, leaves are modified into spines to reduce transpiration.