What is the Difference Between Halophytes and Glycophytes

The key difference between halophytes and glycophytes is that halophytes are salt-tolerant plants that grow in soil or water of high salinity, while glycophytes are salt-sensitive plants that do not grow in soil or water of high salinity.

Salt stress is the accumulation of excessive salt concentrations in the soil or water, which eventually results in the inhibition of plant growth. This leads to crop death. On a global scale, salinity is highly dangerous to crop growth. Salt tolerant plants such as halophytes have the ability to grow and complete their life cycle in salt stress conditions. On the other hand, salt-sensitive plants such as glycophytes do not have the ability to grow and complete their life cycle in salt stress conditions.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Halophytes 
3. What are Glycophytes
4. Similarities – Halophytes and Glycophytes
5. Halophytes vs Glycophytes in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Halophytes vs Glycophytes

What are Halophytes?

Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants that grow in the soil or water of high salinity. Halophytes can survive when they come into contact with saline water through their roots or by salt sprays like in saline semi desserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. These plants have different anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry than glycophytes. Halophytes are classified into three groups, generally including aqua halines, terrestro halines, and aero halines. Aqua halines include emerged halophytes (among which most of the stems remain above water level) and hydro halophytes (among which almost the whole plant remains underwater). Terrestro halines include hygro halophytes (which grow on swamplands), meso halophytes (which grow on non-swamp and non-drylands), and xero halophytes (which grow on mostly drylands). Moreover, aero halines include oligo halophytes (which grow in soil with NaCl from 0.01 to 0.1%), meso halophytes (which grow in soil with NaCl from 0.1 to 1%), and euhalophytes (which grow in soil with NaCl greater than 1%).

The habitats of halophytes include mangrove swamps, sand, and cliff shorelines in tropics, salt deserts, and semi-deserts, Sargasso Sea (a region in the Atlantic sea), mudflats, kelp forests, salt marshes, salt lakes, salt steppes of Pannonian region, wash margin (drift or wrack line) isolated inland saline grasslands, and artificially salinated regions by people. Furthermore, halophytes are used to yield a sustainable supply of renewable resources like food, fodder, fibre, fuel (biofuel), green manure, and raw materials for the pharmaceutical industry and household products. Halophytes such as Salicornia bigelovii are also used for biodiesel bioalcohol production. Certain halophytes such as Suaeda saisa can store salt ions and rare earth elements and therefore can be used for phytoremediation.

What is Glycophytes?

Glycophytes are salt-sensitive plants that do not grow in soil or water of high salinity. A large majority of plant species are glycophytes, which are not salt-tolerant and therefore damaged fairly easily by high salinity. Moreover, glycophytes are also defined as any plant that will grow healthy in soils with a low content of sodium salts. However, the most accurate definition of glycophytes is: plant species that have evolved through adapting under selective pressures in ecosystems with low sodium content and maintain this low sodium content in their aboveground tissues, specifically in their leaves.

Most of the glycophytes are agricultural crops, so they have diverse habitats, including non-saline soils and bodies of fresh water. Beans and rice crops are well-known examples of glycophytes. Furthermore, the resistance of glycophytes to salinity can be increased by saline hardening prior to sowing. Glycophytes like Zea mays can be used for the phytoremediation of metals (Pb, Cu, and Zn).

What are the Similarities Between Halophytes and Glycophytes?

• Halophytes and glycophytes are classified based on their response to salt stress.
• Both are plant species.
• These plants species can be used for phytoremediation.
• They are economically useful.

What is the Difference Between Halophytes and Glycophytes?

Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants that grow in soil or water of high salinity, while glycophytes are salt-sensitive plants that do not grow in soil or water of high salinity. Thus, this is the key difference between halophytes and glycophytes. Furthermore, a small minority of plant species are halophytes, while a large majority of plant species are glycophytes.

The below infographic presents the differences between halophytes and glycophytes in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Halophytes vs Glycophytes

Halophytes and glycophytes are classified based on their response to salt stress. Halophytes are salt-tolerant plants that grow in soil or water of high salinity, while glycophytes are salt-sensitive plants that do not grow in soil or water of high salinity. So, this is the key difference between halophytes and glycophytes.

Reference:

1. “Salt Tolerance in Halophytes & Glycophytes.” SlideShare.
2. “Propagate and Protect Halophytes.” Down To Earth.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Salicorne / pickleweed” By OliBac (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Rice agricultural Paddy fields” (CC0) via Pxhere