Plants are an extremely important part of the desert, without them the animals that depend on them wouldn't survive. All these plants have adapted to their surroundings by using their long roots and storing their own water.
The Saguaro Cactus lives mainly in the Sonoran Desert. It is a tall spiny plant with tough skin. The cactus sucks up water through its skin and roots and can take up to seventy-five years to grow a single branch.
The Occotillo Plant is a course viney looking plant with small leaves and red or orange flowers that resemble a trumpet vine and blooms almost all year long. It lives in dry rocky soil and has long roots. It lives near the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts.
 |  |
The Creosote bush is a spiney dense bush with dark green leaves. Some species only shed their seeds when the plant is totally dry. They break off of their roots to go rolling across the desert on the wind and are usually called tumble weed. The roots that it leaves behind eventually grow a new plant when it rains next. The flowers of the Creosote Bush are yellow and very small and the fruit is an iridescent red berry. The plant is usually used for medicines by the natives and is a popular refuge for bugs.
| Biome Index |
| Desert index |