many xerophytic species have thick cuticles. just like human skin, a plant's cuticles are the first line of defense for its aerial parts. as mentioned above, the cuticle contains wax for protection against biotic and abiotic factors. the ultrastructure of the cuticles varies in different species. some examples are "antizoma miersiana", "hermannia disermifolia" and "galenia africana" which are xerophytes from the same region in namaqualand, but have different cuticle ultrastructures.