In cells excreting large amounts of water, the vacuoles shrink and the cytoplasm is pulled from the cell walls, a condition called plasmolysis (Greek: lysis, “loosening,” of the cytoplasm). Prolonged plasmolysis results in cell death. Yet, the cells of seaweeds and angiosperms adapted to coastal and desert salt flats are able to thrive in saline conditions without suffering plasmolysis. Such an ability is attributable to these species’ capacities to store salts at even higher concentrations than the external medium, thereby sustaining osmotic water uptake.
