What is a waxy leaf?
In the gardening world, plants covered with a layer of cutin are called waxy leaves. Indeed, these plants are very interesting to have at home, this extra layer allows them to avoid losing too much water, while protecting themselves against various predators, such as insects and other animals.
Why should you choose plants with waxy leaves for your home?
These plants with waxy leaves are not only very attractive and eye-catchy but give your home a natural touch. So, if you are a nature lover and want a small space in your interior to decorate to dedicate to the green and awesome looking plants, you can use any of these plants and make your home all the more beautiful.
What is the purpose of the thick wax layer of leaves?
This could lead to the observed similarity of the minimum conductance independent of wax layer thickness, while the wax layer thickness might play a role in determining the rate of the initial fast decline. Nevertheless, the study of Bueno et al. raises the question about the purpose of the thick wax layer of leaves grown in arid conditions.
How do leaf waxes affect stomata response to environmental cues?
The waxes covering the leaf surface and the stomatal guard cells could also affect the responsiveness of the stomata to environmental cues such as sunlight and experienced VPD.
Why do plants need an outer layer?
What is the cuticle of a plant?
Do cuticular waxes protect plants from water loss?
Can waxes slow down stomata?
Does wax cover stomata?
Does wax coverage affect photosynthesis?
Can cuticular wax be omitted?
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1. Radiator Plant (Peperomias)
Native to Latin America, the Peperomia belongs to the Piperaceae family. It is about 62 inches high and its foliage is evergreen. This is one of the reasons why it is grown as a houseplant. It provides a year-round decoration thanks to the pretty colors of its leaves.
2. Bromeliad
Bromeliads are a large family of plants growing in the tropics. They are found wild in the forests of South America and thrive in warm, humid atmospheres. Some thrive directly on tree branches in the heart of large forests.
3. Peace Lily
The peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) is very similar to the arum (Zantedeschia) but also to the anthurium (Anthurium andreanum) except for the color: this rhizomatous perennial is a very common houseplant, native to the tropical areas of the Philippines, Indonesia and South America. The hardiness of these plants is limited to 50°F minimum.
4. Hoya Carnosa
The hoya is a tropical plant, used in our region in the interior. Often ignored, it is however surprising, mysterious, and capable of offering a spectacular bloom in porcelain flowers…
5. Heartleaf Ice Plant (Mesembryanthemum Cordifolium)
The Mesembryanthemum or Ficoide forms a small annual tapestry plant is native to South Africa. The clump, with succulent foliage, does not exceed 15 cm and offers during all the summer flowers with the varied colors (pink, mauve, purple, red yellow and even white) with the aspect of daisy.
6. Pothos
Pretend you’re the most famous rainforest man with this true indoor creeper. Not only will it give you a wild side, it will also sanitize your home.
7. Carissa Holly
Carissa Holly is a shrub with winter interest. It is very popular because of its glossy foliage and its bright bacciform fruits.
1. The Wax Plant
The Wax plant or Hoya carnosa is a very common houseplant that is also famous as greenhouse plants or window plants. Sometimes these plants are epiphytic and are famous for their incredible beauty.
2. Swiss cheese plant
This uncommon name of the tree surely hails to the typical holes the tree grows in its leaves when the plant grows old. Monstera deliciosa or Swiss Cheese Plant is a widespread name among houseplants with waxy leaves.
3. Jade Plant
Jade plant or Crassula ovata has its origin in many South African plant families and is attractive, glossy, and eye-catching. These plants are also known as money plants or money trees.
4. Alocasia Polly
Alocasia Polly or Alocasia amazonica is a famous tropical plant, originated in Asia. The big, dark green waxy leaves with light green prominent veins make it a center of attraction wherever you put it in. This plant is also known as the African Mask plant or Amazonian elephant’s ear.
5. Peace Lily
Peace Lily or spathiphllum wallisii is the ideal houseplant for those green lovers who want to decorate their small room corner with sparkling and shiny dark leaves with wax coating and beautiful flowers. The flowers add to the beauty of the plant.
6. Desert Rose
Desert Rose or Adenium obesum brings to your home the heavenly beauty of colorful flowers with impressive green leaves in a chunk from the deserts of Africa and Asia.
7. Rubber Fig
Ficus Elastica or Rubber fig is a very common houseplant with big, attractive waxen leaves that can complement your interior decor with its varied, colorful leaves. They originally belong to parts of Asia and are popularly known as Indian Rubber trees or Rubber bushes.
Why do plants need an outer layer?
From the point of view of plant water balance, when moving from aquatic to terrestrial habitats, the need for an outer layer to prevent excessive evaporation is obvious. With increasing temperature and evaporative demand, combined with predictions of increased severity and frequency of droughts in many parts of the world (e.g., Berg et al.
What is the cuticle of a plant?
A cuticle is a protective layer that covers an organism and separates it from the environment. In leaves of terrestrial plants, this layer is hydrophobic and consists of an insoluble membrane submerged in solvent-soluble waxes (see, e.g., Buschhaus and Jetter 2011 ). The cuticle of leaves is thought to have evolved as an adaptation during the transition from aquatic to terrestrial habitats, with its main function being to prevent excessive tissue water loss (e.g., Yeats and Rose 2013 ), although evidence for other protective functions such as protection against UV radiation (e.g., Krauss et al. 1997 ), herbivory (e.g., Eigenbrode and Espelie 1995 ), heat (e.g., Salem-Fnayou et al. 2011 ), mechanical stress ( Bargel et al. 2006, Rai et al. 2010, Dominguez et al. 2011, Khanal and Knoche 2017) and pollution ( Winner and Atkinson 1986, Kerstiens and Lendzian 1989, Percy et al. 1994) have also been reported (see also Shepherd and Griffiths 2006 ). Interestingly, depending on the type of pollution, the cuticle might also attract atmospheric deposition aiding in pollution removal ( Wei et al. 2017 ). But the cuticle can also be damaged by pollutants, leaving the leaves with compromised protection in highly polluted areas (e.g., Huttunen 1994 ). Understanding leaf cuticles and their properties is also important from the perspective of pesticide use (e.g., Kirkwood 1999 ).
Do cuticular waxes protect plants from water loss?
While it is clear that the cuticular waxes protect against water loss compared with leave s without waxes, the role of the extra thickness is unclear. In order to truly understand the acclimative changes and adaptations plants can make in response to dry environments, changes in cuticular waxes cannot be omitted, and more studies on wax properties and the wax coverage of stomata are clearly needed.
Can waxes slow down stomata?
In the case of reducing stomatal aperture by covering the opening with waxes, the stomatal responses might well be slowed down, because of the filtering effects of waxes on sunlight and their effects on experienced VPD, but that might allow keeping stomata open longer with reduced water loss rates, enabling the uptake of more carbon.
Does wax cover stomata?
Interestingly, however, Bueno et al. show that independent of the minimum conductance after stomatal closure, the thickness of the cuticular waxes might still help reduce excessive water loss. The thick waxes partially cover the stomata when open, reducing the evaporative surface and stomatal conductance. While there is no evidence on how reduced stomatal conductance by wax coverage would affect plant photosynthesis and water-use efficiency (WUE), some speculations can be formed based on responses of stomatal size to aridity of plant habitats. Plants acclimate to arid and hot environments by increasing stomatal density and reducing stomatal size (e.g., Xu and Zhou 2008, Liu et al. 2017 ). The partial covering of stomata by waxes would not change stomatal density, but would reduce their size, allowing a non-anatomical and potentially fast way to acclimate to a change in water loss. Reducing stomatal size without changing stomatal density decreases the stomatal area fraction, which has been shown to decrease with aridity ( Liu et al. 2017 ). The effects of reduced stomatal size on WUE will depend on whether any other aspects of the leaf anatomy and biochemistry that could influence CO 2 uptake and transpiration changed. Bueno et al. do not report any data on these, and most studies linking stomatal size and WUE report observations without discussing the reason for increased WUE. However, smaller stomata are often associated with higher WUE ( Bertolino et al. 2019 ). Therefore, the cuticular wax cover could improve WUE in high VPD environments. The waxes covering the leaf surface and the stomatal guard cells could also affect the responsiveness of the stomata to environmental cues such as sunlight and experienced VPD. Fast stomatal closure is usually associated with high WUE, as well as protection against large water potential gradients, especially in environments characterized by rapid fluctuations in sunlight (e.g., Drake et al. 2013, Lawson and Blatt 2014 ). The fast closure is due to faster responses of the guard cells to biochemical signal molecules, often in small stomata ( Lawson and Blatt 2014 ). In the case of reducing stomatal aperture by covering the opening with waxes, the stomatal responses might well be slowed down, because of the filtering effects of waxes on sunlight and their effects on experienced VPD, but that might allow keeping stomata open longer with reduced water loss rates, enabling the uptake of more carbon. On the other hand, the covering wax could make the stomata effectively close faster because of the wax covering the opening even before full stomatal closure. We know very little about the permeability of these waxes to CO 2. If anything, the cuticular waxes (for Vitis vinifera) have been reported to discriminate against CO 2 more than water vapor ( Boyer et al. 1997 ). But if there was a positive difference in the permeability to CO 2 and water vapor in Q. coccifera, this would be an effective way of enabling continued carbon uptake while reducing water loss.
Does wax coverage affect photosynthesis?
While there is no evidence on how reduced stomatal conductance by wax coverage would affect plant photosynthesis and water-use efficiency ( WUE), some speculations can be formed based on responses of stomatal size to aridity of plant habitats.
Can cuticular wax be omitted?
In order to truly understand the acclimative changes and adaptations plants can make in response to dry environments, changes in cuticular waxes cannot be omitted, and more studies on wax properties and the wax coverage of stomata are clearly needed.
