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The key to the successs of the dragon's blood tree lies in its bizarre shape. It lives on the mountain tops and though the soil here is thin, there are compensations. Occasional morning mists sweep across the high ground and condense on the skyward-pointing waxy leaves. The droplets gather and run down to the centre of the trunk and to its roots. Water is so precious, that the tree can't afford to waste any. Drops that do escape and fall to the ground are not totally lost. The tree's densley packed crown shades the ground like a parasol and allows the water time to sink into the ground. It also shades the root system below.

Another plant shares this parched desert, but survives in a very different way. In really harsh conditions it jettisons its leaves to avoid water loss. Strangely it also chooses this time to flower. Its bulbous trunk is like a barrel and stores water all year round. The desert rose is so hardy it can grow out of bare rock. It might seem that conditions can't get much harder for a plant than here.