They can withstand cell moisture levels that would be lethal for other plants. Sagebrush and bitterbrush are exceptional at extracting water from dry soils and living on very little moisture. Plants can avoid drought with physical adaptations like the leaves of scorpionweed that funnel rain and dew toward its roots. Succulents like cacti collect water when it is abundant and retain it in their tissue. Rabbitbrush's small, light-colored leaves reduce evaporation.
Plants escape drought by living in the few places where water is actually plentiful.
Others, like the dwarf monkeyflower, carry out their entire life cycle during three moist weeks in the spring and survive as seeds during the rest of the year. The diversity of life at Craters is possible because of its microclimates. The bottom of crevices and cracks may be 15 degrees F. cooler than the surface. Windblown soil called loess collects there, like dust in the corners of your home, creating a place for plants to grow. The well established soil on the north side of old cinder cones can support Douglas fir trees.