Hygrophytes Plants

Hygrophytes Plants

HYGROPHYTES

            These are the plants which do not grow actually in water but in moist, damp and shady places or near water logged soils. They are moisture loving plants and fond on the banks or sides of rivers, ponds, pools lakes etc. and in damp tropical forests. Plants are usually small in size and the stem is often and underground rhizome. The roots and the conducting tissues are poorly developed but the foliage shows luxuriant growth. The leaves attain a large size and much expanded but remain thin and is covered with epidermal hair to increase transpiration. The leaf apices are often elongated to form “drip tips” where hydrathodes occur and water is lost in the form of drops. The epidermal cells are large and chlorenchymatous. The stomata are plentiful and the cuticle is very thin or entirely lacking so that cuticular transpiration is as rapid as stomatal transpiration. The mesophyll cells are large and thin-walled, with large air spaces. The mechanical tissues are poorly developed so that the plants are soft and spongy. Common examples are ferns, aroids, begonias and some grasses.