The only explanation I found in the various Sefarim that I looked was that of the Maharal, who explains that this story is coming to describe the tough character of the desert. The nature of the desert, he explains, is tough. So the plants that grow there are tough too. Consequently, they have the power to strengthen other things. They are able to weld together the parts of objects that are broken and even to enable flesh to grow on to bones. And it is the same toughness, he says, that enable them to burn for longer periods than the fuel that we use on regular land.

Be'Virchas Kol Tuv,

Eliezer Chrysler