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The plants

The variation of biotopes makes it possible for hundreds of species of plants to find a place to grow there. The American desert does not just contain cacti, but also agaves, yuccas, trees, shrubs, palm trees and a huge variety of (usually yearly) herbs. With sufficient rain all these herbs can bloom at the same time and change the desert into a breathtaking carpet of colours. Then when the desert dries up afterwards, they disappear and wait as seeds in the soil for the next rainy season.
The remaining (perennial) plants developed numerous adaptations in order to survive the drought. Some store water in thick leaves (agaves) or spines (cacti, like the thousands of kilos weighing, giant cacti with side arms or saguaros), others immediately drop their (small) leaves when a drought occurs and remain like this until the next rainy season (ocotillo, various trees).

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