This work aimed to investigate mechanisms of stress tolerance for various wild plants widely distributed in the desert of central Saudi Arabia. The study included nine permanent herbaceous or sub shrubby species of different families and various morphological characteristics. The studied species were Anthemis pseudocotula, Citrullus colocynthis, Heliotropium bacciferum, Heliotropium supinum, Plantago coronopus, Rhazya stricta, Rumex vesicarius, Scorzonera intricata and Zygophyllum coccineum. Accumulation of organic and inorganic solutes was analyzed in both herbs and roots. Organic solutes comprised the total soluble sugars (TSS) and free amino acids (FAA), while the inorganic ones included potassium (K+), sodium (Na+), calcium (Ca+2) and magnesium (Mg+2). Accumulation of organic solutes specially soluble sugars was the main mechanism to increase osmotic pressure inside plant cells. Free amino acids were very low in all species except Citrullus colocynthis, Scorzonera intricata and Zygophyllum coccineum, which may follow such mechanism to prevent dehydration. TSS concentrations were higher in roots but that of FAA were higher in herbs. Most species maintained high percentages of potassium with very low levels of sodium and subsequently high K/Na ratio. Sodium was low in both roots and herbs however K, Ca and Mg was higher in herbs. Calcium and magnesium seemed to have role in stress tolerance for some species as Rumex vesicarius and Zygophyllum coccineum. Variability was found among the studied species in relation to their morphological characteristics. The location was an important factor affecting concentration of solutes in plant tissues. Results could be beneficial to understand stress tolerance and improve plants by the transfer of genes coding for the accumulation of solutes.