There is no plant life higher than the microscopic level on the salt pan, but salt-tolerant Pickleweed, Saltgrass and rushes are scattered around the springs and marshes at its edges. Tamarisks offer shade around some of the springs and in the inhabited areas at Furnace Creek. Mesquite abounds where water is less salty. Creosote Bush populates the alluvial fans around most of the valley, giving way to Desert Holly at the lowest elevations. Cactus is rare at the south end of the valley but abundant on the fans farther north.
Spring rains encourage a variety of desert wildflowers.
As elevation increases, so too does moisture. On the higher mountains slopes, Juniper, Mountain Mahogany, Pinyon and other pine forests are prevalent, surrounded by peaks covered with snow. Different forms of wildlife have also learned to adapt to the extreme heat. The variety of animals that live in the desert are primarily nocturnal and are, therefore, not easily observed. But night is the time of innumerable comings and goings by small desert animals.