Yucca brevifolia

The Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia) is a species of tree in the Asparagaceae family.

Tree view

In their habitat

Young plant

Description

The Joshua tree can grow from seeds or from rhizomes of other plants that spread underground. They are slow growing. Plants born from fertilized seeds reach only a few centimeters in height in their first years. Its growth is generally one to two centimeters per year. The trunk of the tree is fibrous and lacks concentric rings, making it very difficult to determine its age. Due to their very superficial roots, they are prone to falling to the ground due to the weight of their branches, once they are very extended. But if it manages to survive the rigors of the desert, it is capable of living for about two hundred years. The tallest tree in Joshua Tree National Park is about 13 meters tall.

In spring these trees are covered with yellowish-white flowers. This bloom appears from February to the end of April. The trees do not present the growth of new branches until after the end of flowering, which does not occur every year. Like all desert plants, flowering depends on the amount and time of rain. Also late frosts can cause flowers to drop before opening.

Once they flower, the trees are pollinated by moths, which lay their eggs on the flowers. The larvae feed on the tree's seeds, but enough seeds remain to produce new plants.

Distribution

It grows in the Mojave desert, in the US states of California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, it is especially abundant in the Joshua Tree National Park in California, between 600 and 2000 meters above sea level. It is said that there are specimens in northern Mexican states such as Saltillo, Coahuila, but since there are no specimens on the US border, they are generally other species of the genus Yucca.

History

It appears to have been given the name Joshua Tree by a group of Mormon pioneers who in the mid-century XIX, after having crossed the Colorado River they were first seen upon reaching the Mojave desert. The peculiar shape of this tree reminded them of the Biblical story of the patriarch Joshua (English=Joshua) raising his hands to heaven, imploring God's help.

Taxonomy

Yucca brevifolia was described by George Engelmann and published in the United States Geological Expolration (sic) of the Fortieth Parallel. Vol. 5, Botany 496. 1871.

Etymology

Yucca: generic name that was named by Carlos Linnaeus and which derives by mistake from the Taíno word: yuca (written with a single "c").

brevifolia: Latin epithet meaning "with small leaves"

Sinonimia

• Clistoyucca brevifolia (Engelm.) Rydb. (1917).
• Sarcoyucca brevifolia (Engelm.) Linding. (1933).
• Yucca draconis var. arborescens Torr. (1857).
• Yucca arborescens (Torr.) Trel. (1892).
• Clistoyucca arborescens (Torr.) Trel. (1902).
• Yucca jaegeriana (McKelvey) L.W.Lenz (2007).