Question

What is Cutin? What is its function in a desert plant?

Answer 1

Hint: The desert plants are very adaptable to tough and even the extreme climate conditions of the deserts. Desert plants are able to store water especially in their trunk, stem and fleshy leaves. The desert plants like the cactus group can be developed in nurseries and even in personal gardens.

Complete answer:
Cutin is basically a very waxy and water-repellent substance that is allied to suberin. It is usually found in the cell walls of corky tissue. Cutin is very much noticeable on many fruits—e.g., apple and cherry, which can be buffed to a high gloss.

Cutin is a very fatty substance that is deposited in the walls of epidermal cells and it also forms a waterproof outer layer known as the cuticle. Very often, the epicuticular waxes, which are in the form of sheets, rods, or filaments, are exuded over the cuticle, giving some leaves their whitish, greenish, or bluish colour.
-The main adaptation which the desert plants make is to minimize water loss.
-In desert plants, this waxy coating is referred to as the cutin.
-It is also helpful in protecting the plant against any kind of mechanical injury.
-Cutin is a very waxy and water-repellent substance that is present in the cuticle of plants. It consists of very highly polymerized esters of fatty acids. They also help the desert plants to retain moisture for a long period of time.
-Thick cuticle, sunken stomata, fewer stomata, less exposed surface, increased water storage, long vertical root, are the basic characteristics that help a desert plant to survive in the driest and extreme conditions also.

Note: Most of the plants in the desert seem to be swollen. It is mainly due to the fact that they have the ability to store water in their stem and it can also be consumed later. They also have holding sacks for the same. Leaves are further reduced to spines in order to reduce transpiration loss. Cutin is embedded in this complex mixture of relatively non-polar compounds.