Joshua Tree. Nikon D200. AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 ED-IF. 40 mm. ISO 200. 1/180 sec at f/11 Aperture Priority. Copyright © Joanne Mason 2011.
The Joshua Tree. One of the world’s most unique trees, the Joshua Tree is found in Southern California’s Mohave Desert, with an especially magnificent stand in what is now Joshua Tree National Park. The Joshua Tree was so named by early Mormon settlers who saw in it Joshua raising his hands in prayer. Unlike most trees, the Joshua tree does not have rings, having a dense fibrous structure and – well adapted to the desert environment – an extremely deep and wide-spreading root system. The Joshua trees can live to 1,000 years or more.
Ah, home sweet home! The Joshua Tree is actually in the lily family.
Thanks for visiting! I looked at your site. Some very nice photographs!
Once you said, “dense fibrous structure”, I thought, that’s not really a tree any more that the icky (INMNSO) yuck-ahs around here are. Some palm trees resemble alien life forms, and the monkey-puzzle tree is another bizarre tree.
Didn’t know they were a member of the lily family–glad to know that.
I decided to check how lilies and Joshua trees are related. For one thing, the JT is a yucca (the most alien looking plants I can usually think of), and you have to go pretty far back up the line to find a connection.
L:ilies and yuccas are both monocots, but that’s as close a relationship as I can find.