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Science 8 August 1980:
Vol. 209. no. 4457, pp. 693 - 694
DOI: 10.1126/science.209.4457.693
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Articles

Atmospheric Water Uptake by an Atacama Desert Shrub

H. A. MOONEY 1, S. L. GULMON 1, J. EHLERINGER 2, and P. W. RUNDEL 3

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305
2 Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112
3 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine 92717

Nolana mollis, a succulent-leaved shrub of the extreme coastal desert of Chile, has the capacity to condense water on its leaves out of unsaturated atmospheres, Metabolic energy would have to be expended to move this water either from the leaf surface directly to the mesophyll or, when dripped to the soil, from there into the roots. Because of the unusual aridity of its habitat and of the utilization of water-use-efficient metabolism by Nolana, at least during certain periods, such an energy expenditure could be effective.

Submitted on January 10, 1980
Revised on May 5, 1980


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)