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Cactus and Spurge Plants |
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| Although all three of the plants in this picture appear to be cactus plants, the one to the far left is a spurge, not a true cactus. While both the cactus and the spurge have reduced, spiny leaves to prevent water loss and a large, succulent stem for water storage, they are quite different plants, distinguished by the presence of a milky latexlike fluid in the stem of the spurge. This similar adaptation to their arid environment is an example of convergent evolution. | ||||||
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| Dorling Kindersley | ||||||
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| Appears in these articles: | ||||||
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| Evolution; Cactus | ||||||
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