• Southern California's desert has given rise to unusual plants, such as the Mojave yucca.flaming mohave yucca image by Brenton W Cooper from Fotolia.com
  
  The dry heat of Southern California's desert region may make it an unlikely place for plants, but the tough conditions have given rise to some hardy varieties. These include colorful flowers and multi-branched shrubs or trees. They often have a spiky appearance. Their unusual looks and ability to survive dry conditions makes them among the world's most extraordinary plants.
  
  

Joshua Tree

• Joshua trees have a prickly appearance.dsc01656 tunzini image by Guillaume Tunzini from Fotolia.com
  
  Yucca brevifolia is a tree-like shrub that lives in the Mojave Desert. Though it is not as common as some other desert plants, its tall stance makes it visually prominent in the desert landscape. It has many branches with prickly, fuzzy-looking foliage. Native Americans used the leaves to weave baskets and ate the flower buds and seeds, according to the National Park Service. When the Mormons crossed the desert in the 1800s, they spotted the shrub and called it a "Joshua tree," after the biblical hero Joshua.
  
  

Desert Parsley

• Desert parsley, or Lomatium foeniculaceum, is a small, gray-green plant whose leaves are covered in tiny hairs. In the spring, it produces yellow flowers. It drinks in the desert sunlight and cannot survive in shady spots. People can grind the roots to make an edible powder, or eat the leaves, which taste like parsley, according to Utah State University Extension.
  
  

Desert Larkspur

• The desert larkspur is a colorful addition to the landscape.delphinium image by Vasiliy Koval from Fotolia.com
  
  The desert larkspur, or Delphinium parishii, adds color to the desert landscape. It is usually a blue flower that blossoms in the spring, but some flowers have a white, pink or violet appearance. The flowers grow on gray-green stalks that sometimes reach several feet tall.
  
  

Mojave Yucca

• Another colorful and dramatic addition to Southern California's deserts is the Mojave yucca, or Yucca schidigera. It is most common in the Mojave Desert, according to an article by Corey L. Gucker on the U.S. Forest Service website. The Mojave yucca is a shrub or short tree with long green spikes and yellow flowers. Though it likes the heat, it needs moist conditions for its initial growth period.