Question

In xerophytes, the presence of thick cuticle, scales, and few sunken stomata on the leaf is to
A.Stop transpiration
B.Protect from light
C.Facilitate transpiration
D.Reduce transpiration

Answer 1

Hint:Xerophytes are plants that live in water-scarce areas. They store or retain as much water as possible to sustain their lives. For this purpose xerophytes undergo various modifications. Xerophytes are drought resistant and try to reduce the rate of transpiration. Cactus is a popular and most common example of xerophytes.

Complete answer:Plants are highly adaptive organisms capable of modifying themselves based on environmental conditions. Plants can be found in frozen tundras to humid rainforests. Plants are classified into various classes based on different factors. Based on the water availability plants are majorly divided as hydrophytes and xerophytes. Hydrophytes are simply water sunken plants and xerophytes are water-scarce plants.
Xerophytes are found to be growing in dry and hot regions like deserts. They grow in water-scarce soils. Xerophytes need much less water than the normal amount of water required by most of the plants. This characteristic of xerophytes is because of the various modifications they undergo. The xerophytic plants usually have leaves modified to spines or scales. This reduces the surface area of leaves. The xerophytes majorly have thick and swollen stems. This is to store and retain water for longer periods. The stomata are the openings of the pores present over the leaves of the plants. Gaseous exchange and evaporation occur through stomata. This leads to transpiration. Thus, xerophytes need to make their stomata sunken. Also, xerophytes have various thick layers over their plant parts. All of these modifications reduce transpiration through the plant.
Therefore, the correct answer is option D) Reduce transpiration

Note: Some plants are able to retain drought conditions even for years. These are called resurrection plants. They are capable of undergoing dormant stages in which they become brown and dry. But giving the appropriate conditions to these plants, they revive to life becoming green.