Deserts are places where little rain falls. Rain is also very unreliable, and when it falls it is often as heavy downpours. This means that plants have to adapt to long periods with sunny skies, very high temperatures and almost no water.
Many plants have ways of storing water. The cactus stores water in its stems. It has no leaves, just spines. Other plants have roots that go down many metres into damper soil, and rubbery leaves that lose very little water.
