How are Xerophytes adapted to dry environments?

Start by considering what Xerophytes are, they are plants that live in dry conditions. What are the problems with dry conditions? Well, the big problem is maintaining a constant amount of water in the body. What factors affect the water balance? Water intake and water loss.The most marks for questions about xerophytes usually come from adaptations concerning limiting water loss. Xerophytic plants often have very thick waxy cuticles surrounding their epidermal tissues (outer cell layers) to prevent water loss by transpiration (water diffusing out of cells and evaporating into the air). They also have few stomata, and those they have are retracted inside the leaf to protect them from the dry, moving air which increases the diffusion pathway distance and so reduces the rate of water loss. These sunken stomata also tend to remain closed during the day to reduce water loss during warmer hours and only open by necessity for storing fresh CO2 at night. Some species such as marram grass have curled leaves with stomata inside that further protects the openings from dry air. If you've ever been to a beach with sand dunes you'll have seen these thin grass leaves covering the dunes.Since water intake is limited by infrequent rain, the plants need to make the most of it and to do this they have large root networks that sit just below the soil to catch any rain water.