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Top 10 Weirdest Desert Plants

By Anvi Mehta

A desert is not just known for the dry climate, extreme temperatures and sand. They are also famous for the various species that have modified themselves in wacky ways to adapt to the extreme climate and weather conditions. The strange shapes, sizes, and characteristics of these plants clearly win them the title of weird desert plants.

Here are a few weird desert plants that you will definitely want to know about!

Top 10 Weirdest Desert Plants

1.Rose of Jericho - The Rose of Jericho (scientific name Selaginella Lepidophylla) is a desert plant that has the ability to stay alive even in complete dry weather. The plant can endure severe arid climates that are generally faced in deserts. During dry weather, its stem curls into a tight ball shape. The stem uncurls and opens up when there is moisture around it - hence, it is also known as the Resurrection Plant. The Rose of Jericho looks almost dead in dry conditions, when it is curled into a ball.

2.Baseball Plant - The Baseball Plant, with the scientific name Euphorbia Obesa, is found in the Karoo desert region of Africa. The plant looks like a baseball, with flowering buds in the centre. Because of indiscriminate harvesting by plant collectors, this bizarre looking plant has unfortunately become an endangered species in its native habitat.

3.The Two Leaf Flower - Native to Namibia, this plant has the scientific name Welwitschia Mirabilis. It consists of a hard stem with roots and only two leaves. The stem becomes thicker but grows only up to 2 metres in height. The two leaves keep growing and can become quite large. The plant can supposedly live in a rain-less desert for up to 5 years. This plant is found in the North African deserts.

4.Barrel Cacti - A desert is incomplete without cactus plants. One such cactus is the Barrel Cactus found in the North American deserts. The plant has a cylinder-shaped body and grows anywhere between 5 to 11 feet tall. The cactus is covered in ridges topped with sharp spines.

5.Desert Ironwoods - Yet another weird desert plant is the Desert Ironwoods are tall tree-like structures found in the Sonoran Desert. The trees have an odd length of 25-30 meters. This plant is slow growing and have pea-like leaves. The colour of the leaves also vary from purple to grey.

6.Born From the Dead - The Born from the dead plant, also known as Triangle-leaf Bursage, is one of the strangest plants in a desert. This plant grows from a base crown, which generally consists of dead and dry stem and leaves. The plant is a native to the Sonoran Desert and throughout southwest Arizona.

7.The Wollemi Pine - This strange desert plant was considered to be extinct till recently, when the species was found in the deserts of Australia. The plant has a distinct stem that looks like bubbling chocolate. Its leaves are fern shaped. This weird looking plant grows up to 125 feet tall.

8.Hydnora Africana - An odd desert plant found in the arid regions of Africa, the Hydnora Africana has the shape of that of a female genital. The plant has an odd characteristic of giving out a pungent odor to attract bees for pollination.

9.Silver Torch Cactus - The weird thing about this plant is that it is woolly unlike other cactus and has flowers that grow horizontally. These plants prefer to grow in temperatures below 0 degree. The Silver Torch Cactus is completely leaf-less, and flowers only when it rains.

10.Tree Tumbo - This weird desert plant is found in the African deserts and looks like a living fossil. The plant can live for 200-500 years.

Story first published: Monday, January 13, 2014, 18:25 [IST]
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