Cool Desert Plants

• The prickly pear is a common cold desert plant. Morey Milbradt/Photodisc/Getty Images

  Most deserts can be found in lower elevations. This causes high temperatures and lack of rainfall. Some deserts occur in higher elevations and have cold winters with large amounts of snowfall and short, cool summers with lots of rainfall. The plants that live in a cold desert are generally low lying grasses.

The Sego Lily

• The sego lily (calochortus nuttallii) is a perennial that is native to the Western United States. It is a cool season plant with white flowers that bloom in the early spring. The sego lily prefers dry, sandy soils and full sunlight. According to the Utah State Extension office, the sego lily is one of the most prominent flowers in the cold desert. It is also the state flower of Utah.

Bitterbrush

• Bitterbrush (purshia tridentata) is also known as the antelope bitterbrush and the buckbrush. It is a perennial shrub that can grow up to 6 feet tall. The flowers of the bitterbrush are yellow and bloom from April to July. Bitterbrush grows most commonly in sandy soils and rocky areas. The shrub can tolerate drought conditions but thrives in full sun and moist, well-drained soils.

Sagebrush

• Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a small shrub that can grow up to 6 feet tall. It has gray, hairy leaves that are 1 inch long. When the leaves are crushed they smell like the sage herb and have a bitter taste. The plant has small, yellow flowers that bloom in late summer. Sagebrush is commonly found in cold deserts in the western United States and prefers sandy soils and full sunlight.

Prickly Pear

• The prickly pear (opuntia) is also known as the paddle cactus. The plants vary in size from 1 to 7 feet tall. The fleshy pads of the cactus look like thick leaves. They have long, sharp spines that are red in color and can easily detach and stick into your skin. The flowers bloom in late spring and early summer and vary in color including red, yellow and purple. The prickly pear is tolerant of the cooler temperatures of cold deserts. The plant prefers full sun and well-drained soils.