Phreatophytes are plants that are supplied with surface water and often have their roots constantly in touch with moisture.
Phreatophytes are not only characteristic of arid or desert zones, but also of wetlands, floodplains, depressions that hold water and estuaries.
Phreatophyte plants help to purify these waters and their roots fix heavy metals with a bacterial filter.
Phreatophytes can be differentiated into plant communities by the length of their root, as they extend more or less deeply into the aquifer.
These trees generally grow in freshwater aquifers where the water table depth is not more than ten meters.
They are also present in water limited environments; for example, oaks in the Mediterranean climate regions.