High Desert Plants

Plants that grow in the High Desert of California survive at elevations of 3000 feet and higher. Their unique adaptations enable them to weather extreme cold and snow in winter and summer temperatures well in excess 100 degrees F with little or almost no precipitation.

Needless to say, nature has spent millions of years perfecting such adaptations and some are truly amazing. Click here to learn about the surprising adaptations of high desert plants.

Most plant descriptions will be added over time, but here are our favorites ones so far:

• Joshua Tree — Yucca brevifolia
• Desert Bird of Paradise — Caesalpinia gillesii
• Desert Four O’Clock — Mirabilis multiflora
• Coyote Melon — Cucurbita palmata
• Apache Plume — Fallugia paradoxa
• Cylindropuntia — Chollas!