Why can cacti survive in the desert?

How do cacti survive in the desert? Why can cacti survive in the desert? Cacti like to grow in arid deserts. In arid environments, cacti have gradually developed their own unique drought-resistant features: thick, succulent stems with well-developed parenchyma cells that are good at storing water; the stem epidermis is covered by a thick, hard waxy layer or densely grown hairs, thereby avoiding and reducing sunlight exposure and lowering water evaporation.

Cacti have an extensive root system and a very strong ability to absorb water, and they are good at collecting trace amounts of moisture. As soon as rain falls, they grow many new roots in the surface layer and absorb large amounts of water. The large roots of cacti are protected by very thick cork tissue, allowing them to live tenaciously on scorching sand and stones without drying out. Some large cacti can live for several hundred years

Cactus is the general term for plants in the family Cactaceae, with more than 2,000 species in total, in many forms such as pad-shaped, spherical and columnar.

From the outside, you can see the huge stems of cacti and their needle-sharp leaves, which also evolved to reduce water loss. Most of a cactus stem is made up of storage cells, and the cells contain mucilaginous substances that can protect the plant from water loss. The cactus stem is the main organ for producing and storing nutrients. Because cactus leaves have a very small area, they avoid a large amount of water evaporating through the stomata on the leaves. If cactus leaves were the same as those of ordinary plants, they would lose a great deal of water and be unable to survive. Therefore, the spines on a cactus also serve the need for survival.

There are also other reasons why cacti can survive in the desert

1. The leaves have degenerated into needles, mainly to reduce water evaporation and improve the cactus's ability to survive in the desert.

2. Most of the stem is made up of thin-walled storage cells, and the cells contain mucilaginous substances that can protect the plant from water loss.

3. A strong, well-developed root system, with lateral roots extending very far and distributed in the shallow layers of the soil; the roots of some species can extend out 30 m, which is also an adaptation to arid habitats.