Concept
Cactus
Related concepts (30)
Succulent plant
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word succulent comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning "juice" or "sap". Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaves and stems. The water content of some succulent organs can get up to 90–95%, such as Glottiphyllum semicyllindricum and Mesembryanthemum barkleyii.
Desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts".
Leaf
A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, flower, and fruit collectively form the shoot system. In most leaves, the primary photosynthetic tissue is the palisade mesophyll and is located on the upper side of the blade or lamina of the leaf but in some species, including the mature foliage of Eucalyptus, palisade mesophyll is present on both sides and the leaves are said to be isobilateral.
Opuntia
Opuntia, commonly called the prickly pear cactus, is a genus of flowering plants in the cactus family Cactaceae, many known for their flavorful fruit and showy flowers. Prickly pear alone is more commonly used to refer exclusively to the fruit, but may also be used for the plant itself; in addition, other names given to the plant and its specific parts include tuna (fruit), sabra, nopal (pads, plural nopales) from the Nahuatl word nōpalli, nostle (fruit) from the Nahuatl word nōchtli, and paddle cactus.
Crassulacean acid metabolism
Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions that allows a plant to photosynthesize during the day, but only exchange gases at night. In a plant using full CAM, the stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but they open at night to collect carbon dioxide () and allow it to diffuse into the mesophyll cells.
Euphorbia
Euphorbia is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to the type genus), not just to members of the genus. Euphorbias range from tiny annual plants to large and long-lived trees. with perhaps the tallest being Euphorbia ampliphylla at 98 feet (thirty meters) or more. The genus has roughly 2,000 members, making it one of the largest genera of flowering plants.
Xerophyte
A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός xeros 'dry' + φυτόν phuton 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water. Examples are typically desert regions like the Sahara, and places in the Alps or the Arctic. Popular examples of xerophytes are cacti, pineapple and some Gymnosperm plants. The structural features (morphology) and fundamental chemical processes (physiology) of xerophytes are variously adapted to conserve water, also common to store large quantities of water, during dry periods.
Botany
Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek word βοτάνη (botanē) meaning "pasture", "herbs" "grass", or "fodder"; βοτάνη is in turn derived from βόσκειν (), "to feed" or "to graze".
Agave
Agave (əˈgɑːvi; UKəˈɡeɪvi; USəˈɡɑːveɪ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some Agave species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for its succulent and xerophytic species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves. Agave now includes species formerly placed in a number of other genera, such as Manfreda, ×Mangave, Polianthes and Prochnyanthes.
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis (ˌfoʊtəˈsɪnθəsɪs ) is a biological process used by many cellular organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in organic compounds that can later be metabolized through cellular respiration to fuel the organism's activities. The term usually refers to oxygenic photosynthesis, where oxygen is produced as a byproduct, and some of the chemical energy produced is stored in carbohydrate molecules such as sugars, starch and cellulose, which are synthesized from endergonic reaction of carbon dioxide with water.