Day 5 🌵-Plants & Adaptations

Hey blog, 

Today was my 5th day in the desert. My tour guide took me to see the plants of the desert. I was surprised to see this plant life because I thought the desert was too hot to support life. The first plant I saw was a cactus.  This cactus was 10 feet and 100 years old but I learned that cacti can grow up to 20 feet two and live for over 200 years! The type of cactus I saw was a Giant Saguaro cactus, which has adapted to the harsh conditions of the desert biome. It’s shallow roots enable this type of cactus to soak up rain and dew before it evaporates, which is helpful because the evaporation typically overtakes precipitation in the desert. The cacti in the desert also have a spongy interior which allows them to expand and hold a lot of water. I also learned that cacti grow slowly to conserve energy.

Cacti in the desert

 My tour guide also took me to see the Mugma Trees. The Mugma Tree is another plant that has adapted to live in the desert biome. This type of tree has small leave so that grow upwards and act as a funnel if it rains. These leaves direct the

rain water to the base of the tree where it is soaked up by the tree’s shallow roots. This guarantees that the trees receive a lot of water during occasional rainfall.

   After learning about the Mugma tree, I spent some time looking at Perennials. My tour guide taught me about the Ocitillo, which is a type of Perennial that survives by becoming dormant during dry periods, then sprinting to life when water becomes available. When water does become available, the Ocitillo grows new leaves so that it is able to photosynthesis food. They later start to grow flowers and the seeds become ripe and fall. When this happens the Ocotillo loses it’s leaves and goes back into dormancy. This process occurs about 5 times a year. The Ocitillo also has a waxy coating on it’s stems which seals in the moisture during periods of dormancy. I’ve had a very educational trip so far and I’m excited for the adventures I will face tomorrow!