Succulents

Abstract

Sukulenti su biljke koje mogu pohraniti velike količine vode u svojim specijaliziranim stanicama. Ta prilagodba razvila se kao posljedica života na područjima gdje se izmjenjuju sušna i kišna razdoblja. Za takav život razvile su i posebnu morfologiju vegetativnih organa, pa tako razlikujemo sukulente stabljike – imaju sočne, zadebljale stabljike, i sukulente lista – imaju mesnate listove za pohranu vode. Predstavljene su reprezentativne porodice tih dviju skupina – Cactaceae (sukulenti stabljike) i Agavaceae (sukulenti lista), koje karakterizira velika raznolikost oblika, veličine, boja, cvijetova i načina oprašivanja. Cactaceae i Agavaceae potječu iz Novog svijeta, ali su danas, zahvaljujući čovjeku, rasprostranjene duž cijelog tropskog i subtropskog pojasa. Nastanjuju pustinjska područja i polupustinje, stepe, šljunčana zemljišta, te rjeđe šume i travnjake. Predstavnici ovih skupina imaju široku primjenu u ljudskim životima, od prehrane preko industrijske proizvodnje različitih preparata, pa do uzgoja u hortikulturi i našim domovima.Succulents are plants capable of storing water in their specialized cells. That adaptation has developed as a result of life in regions where dry and rainy periods alternate through the year. For that kind of life they have developed a special morphology of vegetative organs, according to which we can divide them in two categories: stem succulents which have juicy and thicken stems, and leaf succulents which have flashy leaves for storing water. Representative families of those two categories were introduced – Cactaceae (stem succulents) and Agavaceae (leaf succulents). They have a huge variety in shape, size, color, flowers and pollination ways. Cactaceae and Agavaceae originates from the New World, but thanks to human activity, today they are found throughout the world. They inhabit deserts and semi-deserts, dry steppe, graveled plains, rarely forests or grassland. Specimens of this families have a wide usage in mans' life, from nutrition and industrial manufacture to horticultural and personal cultivation