According to the website NegevDesertBotanicalGarden.org, the Negev Desert is home to four types of plant species, including 800 Mediterranean species, 300 Saharo-Arabian species, 300 Irano-Turanian species and a small number of Sudanian species. Species are divided based on the amount of rainfall required for sustainability and their distance to other native plants of their respective areas.
Part of the Irano-Turanian species, the Mt. Atlas mastic tree, or Pistacia atlantica, is a tree that grows in the Negev Desert along the rocky hills near the Well of Helmet. Dotting the desert landscape, the Pistacia atlantica survive in the Negev by adapting to the cold temperatures of the region.
Found across the Negev Desert in areas that collect rain water, horsetail knotweed, or Polygonum equisetiforme, is a species of brush that turns a bright purple or mauve color at the end of the summer. Flowering throughout the year, the species is one of the most colorful on the Negev Desert's landscape.
The desert lily, or Pancratium sickenbergeri, is a Saharo-Arabian species of flower that grows in the Negev Desert's northern region. A small, showy white flower, the desert lily is known for its dispersal of seeds, which uncommonly propagate when the Negev Desert's floodwater surges in winter.
Bright, cup-like yellow flowers are found on the Negev Desert's autumn crocus, or Sternbergia clusiana. Blooming in autumn (as its name implies), the autumn crocus is a relic of the eastern Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian species, and specimens can be found in isolated areas of the Negev desert.
A Saharo-Arabian shrub with showy, four-petaled pink flowers and small green leaves, the shining moricandia, or Moricandia nitens, blooms from December through April on stony grounds across the Negev Desert. Sporadic flowers can appear on the shrub for a majority of the year, and it stands at a height of one to two feet.
Blooming from March to July, the Shaggy Sparrow-Wort, or Thymelaea hirsute, is a Mediterranean and Saharo-Arabian shrub with small yellow flowers. Growing to a height of six feet, the Shaggy Sparrow-Wort is found in the western and northern Negev Desert on sandy or stony soil, and was used by the Bedouin to make rope.
