The Atacama's Plants
The definition of a desert is; any area which few life forms can exist because of lack of water, permanent frost, or absence of soil, so you would have the idea that there wouldn't be many plants there or non at all, that is actually not quite true because although it is hard there is still a some types of flora in the Atacama Desert let alone more moister deserts. Some of the most common families of flora in the Atacama Desert include:
1. Ferns
2. Cacti
3. Cone-bearing plants
4. Flowering plants ( they survive by absorbing the small amount of dew and the fog in the air, which is a much harder job to do then other flowering plants but hey are surviving so they have adapted correctly by realising the different things to get their water supply from. )
How do they survive in the environment though?, is a good question, well the answer is most plants that live in the desert are already made for a desert like Cacti which have their own water stored inside them meaning they don't dehydrate very easily.
Another plant is the Garra de Leon which doesn't blossom every year. The only times it blossoms is when the el niño ( the abnormal warming on the surface of the eastern tropical Pacific ocean ) brings rain to the Atacama Desert which is about every few years. When this beautiful plant blooms it stays ripe for about a month. The way this plant adapts is it blooms less so it doesn't need a much water and it grows on the coast near the pacific ocean so it can get some water from the ocean.
All plants had to adapts to get there water supply because of the harsh conditions some have a long tap root allowing them to reach underground and absorb water from the underground aquifers. Some species have life cycles characterized to make them have long dormant periods and short reproductive cycles like the Garra de Leon.
1. Ferns
2. Cacti
3. Cone-bearing plants
4. Flowering plants ( they survive by absorbing the small amount of dew and the fog in the air, which is a much harder job to do then other flowering plants but hey are surviving so they have adapted correctly by realising the different things to get their water supply from. )
How do they survive in the environment though?, is a good question, well the answer is most plants that live in the desert are already made for a desert like Cacti which have their own water stored inside them meaning they don't dehydrate very easily.
Another plant is the Garra de Leon which doesn't blossom every year. The only times it blossoms is when the el niño ( the abnormal warming on the surface of the eastern tropical Pacific ocean ) brings rain to the Atacama Desert which is about every few years. When this beautiful plant blooms it stays ripe for about a month. The way this plant adapts is it blooms less so it doesn't need a much water and it grows on the coast near the pacific ocean so it can get some water from the ocean.
All plants had to adapts to get there water supply because of the harsh conditions some have a long tap root allowing them to reach underground and absorb water from the underground aquifers. Some species have life cycles characterized to make them have long dormant periods and short reproductive cycles like the Garra de Leon.