Long Beach Area Thicker and Waxy Cuticle Plants

When we visit the Long Beach coast, there are actually not much plants grow along the shore and dock. However, I still found some Taupata and California Fan Palm (Flowering plants Phylum Magnoliophyta), these two plants are different than other plants because of its characteristic. I noticed that Long Beach is very windy and dry, because of this kind of weather, plants can't really survive in this kind of condition, only the plants such as Taupata and California Fan Palm which has strong ability to prevent water loss can grow under this kind of situation. The thousands of palm tree species thrive in a broad range of environments, including savannas, rainforests, and deserts. Palm tree does not lose much water, making palm trees more heat- and drought-resistant. Another unique adaptation of palm tree leaves is their shading ability. The California fan palm's leaves shade the trunk, so less water evaporates. Palm trees have tall trunks for getting access to air and sun above other trees. Another property of palm tree trunks is the ability to store nutrients the palm needs for periods of drought or when the palm needs to grow. In particular, palm trees store starch in their trunks to help their leaves grow. Palm trees have large root balls to stabilize them in the wind. From the root balls, lots of small, soft roots branch out. Many of these are near the surface of the ground to soak up moisture. Some of the small roots also spread out and down to collect water deeper into the ground. This characteristic helps palm trees withstand drought. Taupata plants use to conserve water is by having a thick and waxy cuticle, the thicker and waxy cuticle layer on a leaf surface can slower the transpiration rate, and more effective to prevent water loss. Therefore, they are more likely to survive in a dry and difficult environment.
Refer to:
Robbins, K. (2017, July 17). Palm Tree Adaptations | Hunker. Retrieved December 09, 2017, from https://www.hunker.com/13428612/palm-tree-adaptations

How Plants Have Adapted to Prevent Water Loss. (n.d.). Retrieved December 09, 2017, from http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plants-adapted-prevent-water-loss-104586.html

Posted on December 10, 2017 02:55 AM by zlu1