• Cacti are the most iconic plants in the desert.Morey Milbradt/Pixland/Getty Images
  
  Plants mostly like healthy doses of water. Plants living in the desert never had this luxury and had to develop water preservation and water hunting techniques. Plants hunt for water by spreading their roots throughout the soil and sometimes send long tap roots down to the water table for a drink. The wildflowers must conserve their water by only blooming occasionally. Annual flowers explode with color before losing their flowerheads.
  
  

Mulga Acacia

• The mulga acacia is a desert plant that can survive temperatures above 20 F. This plant produces yellow flowers that come in three to four cycles each year, according to the University of Arizona. The majority of the flowers bloom in spring and summer.
  
  

Dogbane

• The dogbane is a poisonous wildflower with thin red stems. The plant produces clusters that are three feet tall. The leaves come in a variety of sizes and are lance-shaped, according to Desert USA. These plants are usually found along ditches in the wettest parts of the desert. The flower blooms in late spring and continues to bloom throughout the summer.
  
  

Barrel Cactus

• The barrel cactus is a plant that starts off very globular, reaches 5 to 7 feet tall and has many thorns. As the plant grows taller, it becomes more cylindrical, thus acquiring the shape of a barrel, according to Blue Planet Biomes. When this cactus blooms, it produces yellow-green or red flowers all over its body.
  
  

Feather Tree

• The feather tree can survive in temperatures above 25 F. To survive, these trees must be planted in the spring, according to the University of Arizona. Their flowers look like small, white puffballs, which gave them their feather tree name. These plants are very sensitive to the cold and can become sick when they get too much water.
  
  

Showy Milkweed

• The showy milkweed is called a "milk" weed because it produces sap that looks like milk. These plants produce flowers that look like stars. Sometimes the sepals of the flower are distinct while other times they are joined, according to Desert USA. The flowers hang in short stalks and attract monarch butterflies.
  
  

Joshua Tree

• The Joshua tree can live for 200 years. This tree creates flowers that are creamy-white mixed with yellow and green. The flowers produce an odor that is usually considered unpleasant. The Joshua tree produces both shallow roots and tap roots that can travel very deeply, according to Blue Planet Biomes.