JOHN YANG: We leave you tonight with# a beautiful sight in an unexpected## place.

William Brangham tells us about it.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (voice-over): These wildflowers,## gently blowing in the breeze are delicate# and rare because they li.. driest places on Earth, a place usually# hostile to any kind of flowering plant.

This is the Atacama Desert, a sprawling stretch# of land squeezed between the Pacific Ocean and the## Andes Mountains, mostly in Chile.

It normally# gets just 2 millimeters of rain every year,## but this July and August, some parts of# the desert got 60 millimeters of rain.

But rain isn't the only condition needed# for this landscape to be transformed,## says Victor Ardiles, the head of botany# at Chile's Museum of Natural History.

VICTOR ARDILES, Museum of Natural# History, Chile (through translator):## We understand that there is a threshold that# must exceed 15 millimeters of rainfall for the## seas to begin to activate.

But in addition to# water or precipitation, we need temperature,## we need a certain number of hours of# daylight, and we also need humidity.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (voice-over): This year,# those proverbial stars aligned and the blooms## are bursting.

Ariel Orellana studies plant# biotechnology at the Andres Bello University.

ARIEL ORELLANA, Andres Bello University (through# translator): The Atacama Desert is the driest in## the world and also one of the territories with the# highest solar radiation and ultraviolet radiation## on the planet.

This means there are very adverse# conditions for the growth of any living being.

And the fact that a plant can grow in these# conditions is quite remarkable.

We wanted to## investigate it and understand the mechanisms it# uses to survive in such a hostile environment.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (voice-over): This# floral display has drawn tourists## and scientists for the opportunity to# understand just how these plants do it.

CESAR PIZARRO GACITUA, National Forest#Corporation, Chile (through translator): Coordination and joint work with#academics and researchers studying the physiology of this plant is very# important.

How can it produce enough## food and perform photosynthesis# to withstand extreme conditions?

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (through# translator): Orellana says## understanding these individual plants# is key in the age of climate change.

ARIEL ORELLENA (through translator): This plant# has the ability tolerate drought very well,## which is a serious and growing issue# in global agriculture.

Therefore,## by understanding the genome, the# genetic information of this plant,## and at the same time identifying which genes# are expressed when it is exposed to drought,## we could potentially use that knowledge to# develop crops with greater drought tolerance.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM (voice-over): Most of these# flowers will disappear by November as South## America edges closer to its summer season.# For PBS News Weekend, I'm William Brangham.