Prickly Pear Cactus
The "prickly pear cactus" is one of the most iconic plants that live in the desert. They have wide pads that have a large surface area and are covered in thorny spines. Prickly pear cacti actually thrive in the dry, arid climate.
They flower when temperatures fall to their optimum. The flowers can be large, flamboyant, and sometimes red or bright purple. This gives a color and vibrancy unlike many other plants that live in the desert. They can grow up to 7 ft tall, making them unmissable.
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Golden Barrel Cactus
The thin golden spikes that adorn the orb-like "golden barrel cactus" often shimmer in the sunshine of the desert. The tiny flowers on top of the cactus are a sign of health and vitality. This low-growing plant can live for over thirty years and grows in size annually.
The Kha'labal used to have far more golden barrel cacti. However, following the incineration of the gardens of the Kha'labal, far fewer have survived.
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Brittlebush
Unlike the cacti that appear more suited to desert living, the "brittlebush" appears as though it could be found in city gardens across Dura. It certainly doesn't look like it can withstand the hostile environment of scorching temperatures and little water. However, this unique flower nonetheless flourishes amidst the Kha'labal.
It's called a brittlebush because the stalks that have beautiful yellow flower on the end of them can snap easily. They are brittle. It copes with the hotter temperatures by shedding its leaves and retaining the moisture that it can keep in its brittle stems.
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Agave
These cactus-style succulent plants have many species, and all seem to flourish in the desert conditions. The greenish-blueish leaves are thick and can retain moisture when the weather becomes highly arid.
Their spines can look intimidating, but they are not sharp like cactus spikes. Popular in many parts of the desert, these "agave" plants are now intentionally farmed by many desert populations for medicinal purposes and is the primary ingredient in tequila.
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Tumbleweed
Tumbleweeds form as collected masses of different plant species that grow in the desert's arid, dry, and hot conditions. They vary in size, from being very small to quite large, sometimes larger than a person. It is believed that the Bedouin sometimes stash the remnants of their camps in these weeds so as to remove traces of their travels and avoid being tracked. On occasion, travelers have even found valuable objects caught inside larger tumbleweeds.
Tumbleweeds begin while attached to the ground through roots and stems, but in times of strong winds the branchy mass of such plants detach and will blow where ever the wind takes them. While rolling around, tumbleweeds disperse their seeds across the deserts
Tumbleweeds are damaging to some environments. They are an undesirable, invasive species that can take over and dominate other more pleasant forms of plant life in places such weeds may not have grown before.
Because of their dry nature, tumbleweeds are also highly flammable which means they can be prone to brush fires.
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Night-blooming Cereus
The night-blooming Cereus is the rarest of all the desert vegetation. A unique cacti treasured by apothecaries for its unique properties... it is often known as the princess of the night. While these cacti themselves are very hard to find, occasions on which they bloom are even rarer. There are supposedly two different species of the cacti - one that blooms with whitish-blue colored flowers, and one with white crystal-like flowers. Whitish-blue, or nicknamed 'blue moon' flowered cereus are hard to come by and may be seen blooming only under cover of night. The mythical radiant white flowering cereus is said to bloom only under the inviting light of a full moon. Herbalists claim the white cereus flowers hold mystical properties so powerful that the petals emit bright light in homage to the full moon that awakened them. Djinn are known to seek and consume cereus nectar to restore their energy.