Plants can live almost anywhere. They live in dry deserts. It may not rain there for years. Cactus plants can live in hot deserts. They have thin, sharp leaves, thick skins and long roots. They suck up water from far under the ground.
This is a very large cactus. It stores water in its thick stem.
Deserts can be cold and dry or hot and dry. Plants can live in both hot and cold deserts, but they have to be very tough. They need a way to store water for a long time. They do this by having a thick stem and skin, and thin spikes instead of broad leaves. Thin leaves lose less water than broad leaves.
Some plants survive in muddy swamps.
Mangrove trees grow along tropical coasts in salt water. Mangroves have branches which send roots down into the water. Eventually, the stilt – like roots support the leafy tree above the water and hold it safely in place.
Seeds survive for a long time in the dry desert.
When rain falls on a hot desert, plants spring to life. Seeds buried in the sand grow into flowering plants. In just a few weeks they can produce seeds and die back. The seeds lie dormant in the ground for many months until the next rains.