Desert plants are able to live without much water.
Plants that like it hot and dry
A desert seems like a bad place for plants. In most deserts, the sun is
burning hot, and there’s little water. Yet, many plants do live in
deserts—plants that have solved the problems of living in a hot,
waterless place.
Water is a desert plant’s first problem. The only water most desert
plants get is from rain. But it doesn’t rain often in a desert. And when
it does, the ground quickly dries. So, many desert plants have roots
that spread far out and grow close to the top of the ground. These roots
can catch lots of water, right away.
Most desert plants store up all the water they can get. Some plants,
such as a barrel cactus, can swell up to hold a lot of water. Before a
rain, a barrel cactus may look like a gray lump. But after a rain it
looks like a fat, green ball.
Many animals might eat desert plants to get the water in them. Some
plants have solved that problem. They are covered with thousands of
sharp thorns or needles that keep animals away.
The thorns and needles do another job. They cast shadows. A plant such
as a cactus casts thousands of tiny shadows on itself and makes its own
shade.
