Flora: Plants need to be extremely tough to survive in the desert. They need to be able to deal with temperatures at soaring about 30 degrees in the day, and freezing temperatures at night. Not only that, but they have to find and hang on to water, and protect themselves from hungry animals.
The dry lands support a great variety of different plants, trees and shrubs. These include a fungus , cacti grasses and dry forests.
Some plants have dead root systems close to the surface where they can take advantage of any rain showers. All of the plants with thick and fleshy leaves or stems can take in large quantities of water when its available and store it for future use.
The branches Salsola cyclophylla support tiny bud-like green leaves and five bright coloured flowers encased in a protective cluster of dry leaves. A single known colony exists in a wadi that had no other vegetation except a few dry Zilla spinosa. In rainy years Zilla spinosa forms nice violet patches in deserts
How Do Plants Survive the Desert? -- Desert flora
have adapted to the extremes of heat and aridity by using both physical
and behavioral mechanisms, much like desert animals. The ingenuity and
variety of these many adaptations are explored in desert plant survival and the Desert Food Chain.
Fauna:
Birds in deserts: A variety of birds live in deserts. Some are there throughout the year, like the tiny elf owl. Others come searching for food, for example the Galah.
Other animals:
Desert fauna include animals that remain hidden during daylight hours to control body temperature or to limit moisture needs. Some fauna includes the kangaroo rat, coyote, and jack rabbit, and many lizards.
The following link is a good peak at some desert fauna:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R95DxZ3UXRc
