![]() ![]() At night, carbon dioxide collected by the plant is converted and stored until daylight, when it is reconverted back to carbon dioxide and used during normal photosynthesis. ![]() ![]() Simply put, plants using CAM photosynthesis are “holding their breath” during the daytime, but staying hydrated. ![]() This adaptation allows for maximum efficiency of water use and allows Tillandsia to thrive in arid conditions where sometimes nothing else will grow.ĬAM photosynthesis is simultaneously simple and genius: plant stomata (the leaf pores which plants breathe through) remain closed during the day, which drastically reduces water loss, and open up at night, allowing gas exchange. Air plants exchange gases (breathe) at night instead of the day.Īir plants accomplish this nighttime breathing through a fantastic mechanism of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, which is more commonly referred to as CAM photosynthesis. While most plants only exchange gases during the daytime, (due to the sunlight's involvement in chemical reactions) air plants are different. Just as humans breathe air by inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide, air plants need to exchange gases for survival and growth. ![]()
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