High desert flowers, trees and shrubs

Studying the woody plants and shrubs and high desert flowers of Canyonlands, is made easy by the fact that they grow rather small and far apart. Limited by lack of water, shrubs, trees and wild flowers must disperse in order to survive. Once established, these desert plants are tenacious. Their roots will split rocks in search of nutrients and many can live over 100 years. (Photo by Wendy Stone/Corbis via Getty Images)