A plant that is adapted to live in soil containing a high concentration of salt. Such plants are abundant in salt marshes and mud flats. Halophytes must obtain water from soil water with a higher osmotic pressure than normal soil water. To achieve this the root cells of some halophytes have a very high concentration of salts and so are able to take up water by osmosis. * Succulent halophytes also store water for use when the salt concentration of the soil water rises further as a result of evaporation at low tide. An example of a succulent halophyte is sea rocket (Cakile maritima). There are also certain halophytic grasses that grow so abundantly they have played a major part in land reclamation. The most successful is the C 4 plant Spartina townsendii, which was deliberately introduced in the Netherlands in 1924 specifically for the purpose of land reclamation. See also halosere. |
