How Cacti Survive With (Almost) No Water 🌵

Morning Cactus!

Ah… cacti.

They come in all different shapes and sizes!

They’re covered in protective spiky armor!

And they can somehow not just survive, but THRIVE, in some of the HARSHEST climates on Earth!

So how do they do it?

Well, let's look at this guy:

Called the Saguaro cactus.

They can grow to like 20 meters tall and can live for TWO HUNDRED YEARS!

They’re like the hulk of the cactus world.

So how do they survive?

Well, they've got 3 super clever tactics…

Number 1: Spikes and Skin

We all know Cacti have super spiky skin, but they also have super THICK skin.

Not only is that good at protecting against hungry animals…

But also great at keeping water inside the plant, which is good when water is hard to come by.

Number 2: Nocturnal Activity

Okay so, all plants have these little tiny microscopic holes in them called Stomata.

Which open and close, letting in or out gases important for photosynthesis.

AKA the thing that keeps plants alive.

But here's the thing…

Most plants have those Stomata things opening/closing 24/7.

But our big cactus friend… he doesn't do that.

Cacti stomata remain closed during the day and open up during the night.

This is cause night time is MUCH cooler and therefore prevents excess water loss during the boiling hot day.

Pretty clever.

Number 3: Taking advantage of rare opportunities

When water is such a precious resource, when it DOES come, you gotta take advantage.

And that's why cacti have a vast, but shallow root network that spreads out for multiple meters, creating a vast surface area incase of rainfall.

But it gets better.

After rainfall does happen, these roots grow some fancy new roots really really quickly and suck up all that water as quick as possible.

And then when the rain is all soaked up, those new roots dry out and wither away.

Taken together, these 3 tricks combined are the ULTIMATE LOW-WATER SURVIVAL STRAT!

And it’s how Cacti manage to thrive in such HARSH and unforgiving environments…

Cacti are frickin BEASTS!

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Stay Cute,
Reece, Henry & Dylan 🌈

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