Plants

• Botanists believe between 1,750 and 2,000 plant species live in the desert. Many species have shallow root systems, spines and thorns. These features help them to store water or absorb rain. Desert flowers begin flowering in February and common varieties include desert larkspur, wallace woolly daisy, Mojave poppy and rock daisy.
  
  

Mammals and Reptiles

• Mammals and reptiles in the Mohave include the desert tortoise, bobcat, big horn sheep, and coyote, according to the Mojave Desert Land Trust. You can also find the American kestrel, jackrabbit, Mojave rattlesnake, golden eagle, great horned owl, raven, tarantula and roadrunner. The desert also has an abundance of squirrels and rodents.
  
  

Heat

• Many creatures have developed ways to avoid high temperatures, such as owls and bats, who only come out at night when temperatures are lower. To keep cool, lizards, toads, tortoise and snakes hide in burrows during the day. Tortoises feed on plants in spring and hibernate throughout the summer to avoid the heat. Jackrabbits and mule deer have large ears which help to lower their body temperature by cooling blood vessels.
  
  

Joshua Tree

• The Joshua tree can reach 49 feet high and is an iconic species in the Mojave. The tree grows in abundance at Joshua Tree National Park. It's thought that early Mormon settlers originally named the tree because it reminded them of Joshua in the Bible raising his hand to the sky in prayer.
  
  

Joshua Tree National Park

• Comprising 800,000 acres, Joshua Tree National Park provides guided hikes, campsites, a network of mountain bike dirt roads and rock climbing and picnic areas. It gives visitors to the Mojave the opportunity to explore the area and learn more about its wildlife. Trail destinations include Cottonwood Spring, which was a water stop for miners and gold prospectors, and Skull Rock, which is a strange lump of granite that looks like two eye sockets.