House of Plants
Charming Succulents
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents,
are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually
to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word succulent
comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning "juice" or "sap".
Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaves
and stems. The water content of some succulent organs can get up to
90-95%, such as Glottiphyllum semicyllindricum and Mesembryanthemum
barkleyii. Some definitions also include roots, thus geophytes that
survive unfavorable periods by dying back to underground storage organs
may be regarded as succulents.
The habitats of these water-preserving plants are often in areas with
high temperatures and low rainfall, such as deserts, but
succulents may be found even in alpine ecosystems growing in
rocky soil. Succulents are characterized by their
ability to thrive on limited water sources, such as mist and dew, which makes them equipped to survive in an
ecosystem that contains scarce water sources.