Desert plants tend to look very different from plants native to other regions. They are often swollen, spiny, and have tiny leaves that are rarely bright green. Their strange appearance is a result of their remarkable adaptations to the challenges of the desert climate. Aridity is the sole factor that defines a desert and is the primary limitation to which desert organisms must adapt.
Desert plants have developed three main adaptive strategies: succulence, drought tolerance and drought avoidance. Each of these is a different but effective suite of adaptations for prospering under conditions that would kill plants from other regions.
Succulence
Succulent plants store water in fleshy leaves, stems or roots. All cacti are succulents, as are such non-cactus desert dwellers as agave, aloe, elephant trees, and many euphorbias. Several other adaptations are essential for the water storing habit to be effective.
Drought Tolerance
Drought tolerance (or drought dormancy) refers to a plant’s ability to withstand desiccation without dying. Plants in this category often shed leaves during dry periods and enter a deep dormancy. Most water loss is from transpiration through leaf surfaces, so dropping leaves conserves water in the stems. Some plants that do not normally shed their leaves have resinous coatings that retard water loss (e.g., creosote bush).
Drought Avoidance
Annual plants escape unfavorable conditions by not existing. They mature in a single season, then die after channeling all of their life energy into producing seeds instead of reserving some for continued survival.