What exactly is a succulent plant?
The term succulent refers to a plant that possesses some capacity for storing water. There are some notable exceptions, but these plants generally originate in arid regions. In order to survive in these extreme climates, many plants have developed characteristics that allow them to best utilise infrequent moisture accumulation. The most logical way to accomplish this is by hoarding as much water as possible while it is available, and this, indeed, is what the plants do. To be considered succulent, a plant must exhibit this water storage characteristic in at least one of three different places: roots, stems, or leaves. Leaf succulence is instantly recognisable, demonstrated in the engorged quality of the plants leaves. Lithops, the popular “living stones” of Africa, are the ultimate example of this characteristic. These little plants have taken adaptive evolution so seriously that they now possess only a pair of leaves grown from a network of small roots. While the roots are responsible
