Xerophytes

The term xerophyte refers to a plant species that has evolved over time to adapt to dry regions like deserts. Xerophytes have adapted to be able to keep extremely large amounts of water for a long period of time. Without this capability, the plant would die, as the desert region region itself does not provide enough water to sustain life.

Commonly Found Xerophytes
The Joshua Tree
Succulent plants
Some bromeliads
The Cactaceae family of plants
Chaparral plants
Barrel cacti
Basal rosette
Agaves
Eriogonums
Dudleya brittonii
Malosma laurina
Dudleya pulverulenta
California poppy
Prickly pear
Pine
Tea plant
Esparto grass
Euphorbia
Acacia
Nerium oleander
Raphinacme
Tillandsia
Kalanchoe
Bursera fagaroides
Adenia glauca
Avonia alstonii
Cissus tuberosa
Trichodiadema bulbosum
Calibanus hookerii
Idria columnaris
Monadenium rubellum

Some of these plants store the water in their round stems. Often, leaves are not prominent, such as in the case of cacti. This is because the process of transpiration can cause water vapor to diffuse out of the leaves which would leave the plant without its necessary resource, water.
In addition to not having leaves, the overall surface area of a xerophytic plant may be less than other plants because exposure to air by the plant's surface can result in a water reduction due to evaporation.
Xerophytes must work hard to intake a great deal of water when possible. This is made possible through their deep root systems and often growth located below the water table. Water is stored after it has been taken in through succulent leaves and stems or fleshy tubers.

Where to Find Xerophytes
Tanami Desert
Judaean Desert
Blue Desert
Dast-e Lut
Kalahari Desert
Arabian Desert
Karoo
Ordos
Namib
Taklamakan
Owami
Kara Kum
Sahara Desert
Chilistan
Thal Desert
Gobi
Lop Desert
Ordos
Rub' al Khali
Indus Valley Desert
Maranjab Desesrt
Wahiba Sands
Stranha Sahara
Negev
Oltenian Sahara
Oleshky Sands
Bardenas Reales
Piscinas
Monegros Desert
Deliblatska Pescara
Dungeness
Larzac
black Rock Desert
Chihuahan Desert
Sechura Desert
Atacama
Mojave Desert
Patagonian Desert
Colorado Desert

Tugor Pressure

Transpiration is also crucial in maintaining water pressure within cells, keeping them rigid so they can support the plant.
The water pressure inside plant cells is called turgor pressure , and it is maintained by a process called osmosis . Technically speaking, osmosis is the movement of water across a differentially permeable membrane from a place where water concentration is higher to one where the concentration is lower.
Fluids like to reach a state of equilibrium. If I pour milk into my coffee, it doesn’t all stay in one place but diffuses throughout the cup. If you put a drop of food coloring in a basin of water, it diffuses until all the water is tinted.
Plant cells maintain a delicate balance of water and various dissolved salts and sugars. If the fluid inside the plant cell is "saltier" than the surrounding fluid, water molecules move in to try to reach equilibrium. If there were no cell membrane, then at the same time the salty water would diffuse out, until the salt concentrations inside and outside the cell were equal.
BUT: the cell membrane is "differentially permeable," meaning that water molecules can enter, but the salt molecules are too large to escape. The result is that water pressure builds inside the cell, causing the cell membrane to exert pressure on the cell wall—in much the same way a balloon inflated inside a box would exert pressure on all sides of the box.

These rigid, stacked "boxes" keep the plant upright. If the "balloons" deflate, then the boxes collapse. Plants must maintain their internal water pressure, or turgor pressure, to keep stems rigid and leaves expanded to the sunlight. This means that water must be available to the plant whenever it needs it. If water isn’t available, cells collapse and the plant wilts. So, next time you have a dry spell, and are commiserating with your gardening friends, you might just say, "Boy, the soil is dry as a bone. All my beautiful plants are losing turgor pressure!"