<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (June 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> 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, such as a desert or an ice - or snow - covered region in the Alps or the Arctic . </P> <P> The morphology and physiology of xerophytes are variously adapted to conserve water, and commonly also to store large quantities of water, during dry periods . Other species may be able to survive long periods of desiccation of their tissues, during which their metabolic activity may effectively shut down . Plants with such morphological and physiological adaptations are xeromorphic . </P> <P> Plants absorb water from the soil, which then evaporates from their outer surfaces; this process is known as transpiration . In dry environments, a typical (mesophytic) plant would evaporate water faster than the rate at which water was replaced in the soil, leading to wilting . To reduce this effect, xerophytic plants exhibit a variety of specialized adaptations to survive in such conditions . Xerophytes may use water from their own storage, allocate water specifically to sites of new tissue growth, or lose less water to the atmosphere and so convert a greater proportion of water in the soil to growth, or have other adaptations to manage water supply and enable them to survive . </P>

Type of plant adapted to reduce water loss