Can water be absorbed through leaves?
Leaves have waxy cuticles to primarily prevent water loss. This waxy cuticle also sheds water preventing its uptake. Water can diffuse into the plant through the stomata but since the xylem supplies water directly to the leaves the vapor pressure is usually much higher inside the leaf. This creates a vapor gradient meaning water tends to diffuse out of the leaf, down the vapor gradient to the air. The way water on the leaf would alter this is by changing the direction of the vapor gradient. If the water evaporated from the leaf surface creating very high local humidity the plant’s transpiration will slow and even stop. Photosynthesis requires water for the reaction to proceed so water continues to be taken from the leaf. This could locally reverse the evaporative gradient and draw some vapor into the plant to condense as water. The waxy cuticle is not perfect and some water will cross the barrier. Just as plants will still desiccate despite closed stomata so they will also absorb some
