The population of Earth is still going up. There will be less and less good land for growing crops in the future. People worry that there will not be enough food for everyone in the middle of this century.

    Recently scientists have discovered one strange plant namedfedtschenkoi（玉吊钟）may help. It can absorb（吸收）carbon dioxide(CO₂) at night. It only needs 10 times less water than food plants like beans. This means it can grow in the desert(沙漠).

    In which ways could this plant help us?

    Since deserts are increasing in size because of the changes in Earth's climate, growing plants there will be more and more important. Although it is dangerous to eat this plant, scientists can still study something about it: how it absorbs CO₂ at night while many other plants only do this during the day, and why it is suited to the desert.

    There is another direction to take the research in. Producing a desert plant to eat will be difficult, but there is still possibility to use the genes(基因)from this plant and put them into food plants.

    The other way is to grow this type of plant for fuel(燃料). At the moment we grow plants for fuel in good land. If we do it in deserts instead, more good land can be used to grow plants for food.

    Desert plants have special qualities, which could be an answer to our future food or energy needs. Scientists are working hard on it.