Osmotic pressure is maximum in

Options

A. Hydrophytes
B. Halophytes
C. Xerophytes
D. Mesophytes

Answer

**Step-by-Step Solution:**

1. **Understanding Osmotic Pressure**: Osmotic pressure is the pressure required to stop the flow of water across a semipermeable membrane when a solution is separated from pure water. It is influenced by the concentration of solutes in the solution.

2. **Identifying Plant Types**: The question provides four types of plants: hydrophytes, halophytes, xerophytes, and mesophytes. Understanding the characteristics of each type is crucial to answering the question.

- **Hydrophytes**: These are aquatic plants that thrive in water-rich environments. They do not need to maintain high osmotic pressure as water is readily available.

- **Halophytes**: These plants are adapted to live in saline (high salt concentration) environments. They need to maintain a high osmotic pressure to absorb water from their surroundings, which are often hypertonic due to high salt content.

- **Xerophytes**: These are plants adapted to dry conditions, such as deserts. They have mechanisms to conserve water but do not necessarily have maximum osmotic pressure.

- **Mesophytes**: These plants thrive in moderate water availability. They do not experience extreme osmotic pressures like halophytes or xerophytes.

3. **Analyzing the Conditions of Halophytes**: Halophytes live in environments with high salinity where the concentration of salt is much higher than in their internal cell sap. To absorb water, they must have a higher concentration of solutes in their cells, leading to increased osmotic pressure.

4. **Conclusion**: Given the definitions and adaptations of each plant type, halophytes are the only group that requires maximum osmotic pressure to survive in their saline habitats. Therefore, the correct answer is **halophytes**.

---