Dear Student,
The cactus plant is found in dry places like deserts.In dry places plants get less water and hence they need to preserve them.In plants water is lost from the surface of leaves.So in plants like cactus leaves are modified into spines to reduce surface area.Spines have less surface area as compared to leaves.Hence less amount of water is lost from the plant and so they can store water in dry climatic conditions.
Regards