A desert biome is often characterized by high temperature, high humidity and low precipitation and a drastic fall in temperature at night. When you think of the desert, you might not associate it with fertility, but there are a number of different plants – including cactuses – that inhabit the planet’s driest regions.

The desert plants are naturally beautiful in their own way. Plants that we won’t find anywhere else. These plants are strongly built to adapt to the toughness and extremity of the desert. But they are beautiful, something so rare that they endure a major tourist attraction. Here is a list of desert plants. These desert plants are the most common and general plants we find in almost every desert.

1. Prickly Pear Cactus

The prickly pear cactus is one of the most iconic plants that live in the desert. They have wide pads that have a large surface area that are covered in thorny spines. In the Southwestern United States, prickly pear cacti actually thrive in the dry, arid climate. They flower when temperatures fall to their optimum. The flowers can be large, flamboyant, and bright purple. This gives a color and vibrancy unlike many other plants that live in the desert. They can grow up to 7 ft tall, making them unmissable.

2. Brittlebush

Unlike the cacti that feature in our list of plants that live in the desert, the brittlebush looks like it could grow in any garden. It certainly doesn't look like it can withstand the hostile environment of scorching temperatures and little water. However, it’s thriving, especially in Mexican deserts. It’s called a brittlebush because the stalks that have beautiful yellow flower on the end of them can snap easily. They are brittle. It copes with the hotter temperatures by shedding its leaves and retaining the moisture that it can keep in its brittle stems.

3. Elephant Tree

This plant is an unusual plant in the US in the Anza-Borrego Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Santa Rosa Mountains and also in some parts of the southwestern part of Arizona. This plant is especially prepared to adapt to the desert climate, with a thick trunk that stores water for days.

4. Creosote Bush

Creosote Bush is also known as Greasewood and is a shrub that can grow upwards of 10 feet. While they can be fragile in their early years, Creosotes grow into extremely hardy plants, and they will overtake neighboring plants that encroach on their water and resources. Creosote Bush is found in the desert slopes and plains of Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. It has small green leaves that are covered with varnish. The flowers are also yellow and about the same size as leaves.

5. Desert Ironwood Plant

This tree grows in the deserts of the Southwest United States and is known for its incredibly tough word (hence the name), making it not suitable for a variety of typical lumber uses. However, it serves a great purpose in the desert, where it signals bats to migrate based on its flowering pattern. Desert ironwood trees grow only in the Sonoran Desert which is known as a hot, dry desert is located in southwestern Arizona, southern California, and the northwestern part of Mexico. The Desert Ironwood is known as a “nurse plant” as it provides a safe place for seed germination and protects seedlings from extreme cold.