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Joshua trees (yucca brevifolia) are beautiful and majestic trees in the Yucca family native to southwestern North America, growing in Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and particularly in California. They are found principally in the Mojave Desert, growing well in the open grasslands of Joshua Tree National Park.

classification

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Agavaceae
Genus: Yucca
Species: Y. brevifolia

growing

Joshua trees can grow from either seeds or from an underground rhizome of an already existing tree. They grow very slowly, new seedlings only reach a height of 10 to 20 centimetres in their first year, and then only about 10 centimetres per year after that. Joshua tree seedlings, in their first years, look very peculiar -- rather like long blades of grass! Seedlings grow best when they're next to a 'nurse plant', which can protect them from desert animals and the harsher extremities of desert weather.

physical

The Joshua tree's trunk is made of thousands of tiny fibres -- this means that unlike other trees, they have no growth rings and therefore it's difficult to tell just how old the tree is. If the tree can survive the harsh desert conditions and also manage to stay upright despite its heavy branches and shallow root area, it can live for hundreds of years -- some even up to a thousand. The leaves of the Joshua tree are usually 15 to 35 centimetres long, and shaped like spears.

flowers & fruit

The Joshua tree blooms in spring (February to late April). The flowers appear in a cluster near the end of the branches. They are six-tepaled (three petals and three sepals), light green to creamy white, and bell-shaped. The jury seems to be out on whether the scent the flowers emit is a particularly nice one or not -- some people have described it as sweet and reminiscent of a coconut, others have put it down as downright unpleasant.

The flowers are pollinated with the help of the female Yucca moth. The tiny moth collects pollen from many flowers before choosing one flower to be the home for its offspring. It will leave behind pollen while it lays its eggs in the flower's ovary. The larvae, upon hatching, will consume roughly about twenty of the two hundred seeds in the ovary. Through this cycle, we can see that the Yucca moth and the Joshua tree are dependant on each other for the survival of their species.

After the flower is pollinated, the ovary swells up with seeds and the flower falls away, becoming the fruit of the Joshua tree. The fruit is oval-shaped and a dull green colour, averaging two to four inches in length. After drying and falling in late spring, the fruit reveals many circular, flat black seeds, not much larger than a human male's pinky fingernail.

people & joshuas

The Cahuilla Native Americans still hold the Joshua trees in high regard as a resource to them. Their ancestors used Joshua tree leaves to weave sandals and baskets, and harvested the seeds and buds for meals. They called the plant "hunuvat chiy'a" or "humwichawa".

The plant came to be known as the "Joshua tree" when Mormon settlers crossing the Mojave Desert in the mid-1800s were reminded of the Biblical Joshua, who held his arms up for hours on end in prayer to still the sun, so the Israelite army could be victorious over the Armonite Kings' army. Miners and ranchers of the same era used the trees' branches and trunks for fuel and fencing.

More recently, the Joshua tree flower essence has captured the interest of flower essence therapists. It is said that this particular essence helps structure one's life and help with self-awareness.

Popular Culture

Joshua trees make many appearances in popular culture. Irish rock band U2's fifth studio album is named The Joshua Tree. Released in 1987, the album dealt, lyrically, with the idea of America as a political entity and America as an ideal. The songs on the album also contained many references to the desert -- fitting well with the title. The famous Joshua tree featured on the cover of the album grew in Death Valley, California -- sadly, it collapsed in 2000.

In the works of YA author Francesca Lia Block, particularly in her Dangerous Angels series and stand-alone novel Violet and Claire, Joshua trees are linked with emotional moments for the characters, and also with spiritual and emotional catharsis in their lives.

For acknowlegements for images used in this article, please click here.