 Although its spherical leaf morphology contributes to minimizing water loss, it also dramatically reduces the area available for the absorption of light and could be potentially detrimental to the plant's rate of photosynthetic carbon assimilation.An adaptation that may help compensate for this reduction in light interception is a narrow, translucent, crescent-shaped band of tissue on the adaxial side of the lamina.This specialized structure is known as an "epidermal window" and it allows light to enter and irradiate the interior of the leaf, effectively increasing the area of leaf tissue available for photosynthesis.