How do plants adapt to life in the desert with high temperatures and low supplies of water?

The problems faced by plants is not due to too much light
but an increased temperature due to the infra-red rays that fall on them. In the
deserts, a high temperature is accompanied by a very low amount of water that is
available. Plants that grow in these conditions use many ways methods to overcome the
challenge. Some of these are:

• Reducing the
  number of leaves or eliminating them altogether, this reduces the surface area for
  evaporation of precious water. Photosynthesis is carried out in a green stem rather than
  leaves.


• Storage of water in the stems and the
  leaves.


• Alignment of leaves to keep the heat rays falling
  on them to the minimum.


• The presence of a waxy coating on
  the leaves that reflects light and also reduces the amount of water
  lost.