Adaptation strategies of halophytes to their environment
Halophytes - Diversity and applications

To survive and thrive in hostile environments (saline and/or dry), halophytes have had to evolve adaptive strategies that are more or less spectacular, but always interesting to study. For some halophytes, morphological adaptation involves hypertrophy of the aerial organs (= succulence) to build up water reserves in the stems or leaves (sea fennel, sea purslane, glasswort) (figure 2). These plants, most of which are found in the lowest areas of the foreshore (slikke and schorre), can tolerate salt concentrations of up to 60 g/L (as a reminder, seawater contains the equivalent of 34 g/L of salt). They have a hypertrophied, waterlogged aerial axis and a specialized root system that enables them to absorb water efficiently while preventing excessive salt infiltration.