The desert rhubarb's large, self-shading, cool leaves collect moisture from the air rising from the warmer ground using condensation.
The desert rhubarb has adapted to survive in the arid desert. The leaves' structure and morphology are designed explicitly for staying cool and trapping moisture. The underside of the rhubarb leaf is cooler than the earth underneath it. As moisture evaporates from the warm soil, this moist air hits the shady, cool underside of the leaf and condenses on the surface. This condensed water will drip back down on the ground and stay near, watering the roots of the rhubarb plant. Humans could mimic this water-collecting method to deliver clean drinking water where it is scarce.
