Abstract
A succulent photosynthetic organ typically maintains positive daily carbon balance by having its own water reserve and accompanying high organ water potential. The organ possesses anatomical and physiological adaptations that yield very high WUE, even when it is severed from the root system (Nobel 1985,1988; Gibson and Nobel 1986). Succulence grades into “fleshiness,” which describes leaves having high water capacitance but wilting rapidly when a shoot is severed (Gibson 1982); fleshy organs lack many mechanisms of drought resistance and in warm deserts tend to be drought deciduous structures or occur on short-lived annuals. Therefore, succulence cannot be judged only by measuring the amount of stored water or thickness of the organ (von Willert et al. 1992).
Keywords
- Crassulacean Acid Metabolism
- Palisade Parenchyma
- Bladder Cell
- Crassulacean Acid Metabolism Plant
- Photosynthetic Organ
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gibson, A.C. (1996). Succulent Photosynthetic Organs. In: Structure-Function Relations of Warm Desert Plants. Adaptations of Desert Organisms. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60979-4_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60979-4_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64638-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-60979-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive