"It’s so hot that even the famous cacti of the Sonoran Desert, such as the saguaro cactus —the Trident-like one you’ve seen in countless cartoons and cowboy movies —are struggling in the heat. They photosynthesize at night, when it gets a little cooler. But climate change
Has extended the times in which it is hot as hell not only further into the calendar year but further into the night. The saguaro cactus is struggling to photosynthesize when it’s still over 100 degrees, even after the sun has set."
Cacti, and plants in general, do not and cannot photosynthesize to any appreciable degree at night. Even the brightest, fullest moon and clearest sky full of stars is not enough light for this process to be effective/efficient. They do their carbon capture / gas exchange primarily at night, but that’s a separate process and is not the same thing as photosynthesis.
But also, this whole section is just poorly formatted, unedited, incorrect, and badly written. Like even the tone seems to change in these “2” paragraphs. Why even include this in the article? It really undermines the rest of the content, in my opinion.
Cacti, and plants in general, do not and cannot photosynthesize to any appreciable degree at night. Even the brightest, fullest moon and clearest sky full of stars is not enough light for this process to be effective/efficient. They do their carbon capture / gas exchange primarily at night, but that’s a separate process and is not the same thing as photosynthesis.
But also, this whole section is just poorly formatted, unedited, incorrect, and badly written. Like even the tone seems to change in these “2” paragraphs. Why even include this in the article? It really undermines the rest of the content, in my opinion.
Vice has really gone down the shitter