Plants in the Deserts of the Middle East - Essay Example

Olive trees are in abundance in the Mediterranean desert toward the north of the Sahara desert. Plants found in the desert of Utah include mesquite (Prosopis), Cacti, and Yucca. Perennials, unlike, annuals, survive in the Utah desert all the time. Some perennials have deep root systems to reach the subterranean water. For example, Yucca’s roots exist 40 feet below the ground surface whereas the roots of mesquite (Prosopis) can penetrate up to 100 feet below the surface (Andersen, 1996, p. 5). The desert of Utah has an open nature with shrubs spaced widely apart.

This speaks of the low content of moisture and is suggestive of extensive underground roots’ pattern. The main factor the limits the plants’ survival in the desert of Utah is water. Plants have different structural mechanisms to deal with this problem. Waxy coatings on the plants’ stems serve to reflect heat and reduce evaporation e.g. the leaves of Incienso covered with dense fine hairs serve the very purposes.