The current hypothesis is that the salty water coating the leaves of N. mollis act as a surrogate for transpiration.

The leaf water balance of N. mollis. Assuming leaf water content remains approximately the same through time, transpiration (ET) should balance leaf-specific sap flow (JV). Moreover, assuming the salty layer is recharged and depleted daily, surface evaporation (ES) will balance condensation (D). Since ET is energetically equivalent to ES with respect to leaf temperature, higher D's will lead to lower JV's, an effect compounded by the subsequently high humidity of the leaf boundary layer.