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Joshua tree (Yucca
brevifolia) is the signature species of the Mojave Desert:
if you see Joshua trees, you are in the Mojave Desert -- no questions
asked. Joshua trees are a major component of the Upper Sonoran (Mojave
Desert Scrub) life zone, and they extend into the Upper
Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper
Woodland) life zone.
Family:
Agave (Agavaceae).
Other
names:
tree yucca, joshua tree yucca.
Plant
Form:
upright, many branched tree sparsely scattered across the
landscape.
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Height:
usually 15 to 20 feet, maximum to 30 feet.
Trunk:
generally 12-15 inches diameter, to 3 feet; brown, rough, and
furrowed. Young trunks covered with dead leaves.
Leaves:
long (usually 8-10 inches, to 14 inches) and narrow, straight,
pointed tip, toothed margins, dark green. Live leaves clustered at the
ends of branches in dense rosettes; dead leaves stay attached for years
and cover the trunks.
Flowers:
greenish-white, waxy, bell shaped, to 3.5 inches long. Flowers
clustered on stalks (to 1.5-feet long) at the branch tips. Blooms in
the spring.
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Seeds:
occur in green seedpods about
1.5 inches wide and 4 inches long.
Elevation:
2,000 to 3,500 ft
Comments:
Joshua trees got their common name from the Mormon settlers
who likened the tree to the biblical prophet Joshua with his arms
uplifted towards the sky in prayer.
Joshua trees can live to 300 years.
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