Abstract
Plants can only grow and reproduce when their cells are bathed by water and permeated by it. Algae and the most active organs of higher plants, the leaves, and the roots, are 85–95 percent water by weight. Desiccation or freezing do not necessarily spell death of all plant cells but slow down to imperceptible rates the metabolic processes of growth and development. Water, then, is of the essence in the functioning of plants.
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© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
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Epstein, E. (1980). Responses of Plants to Saline Environments. In: Rains, D.W., Valentine, R.C., Hollaender, A. (eds) Genetic Engineering of Osmoregulation. Basic Life Sciences, vol 14. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3725-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3725-6_2
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