Trees and Plants

The eponymous Joshua tree is to be found all around the park, as well as over 750 other types of plants.

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Trees and Plants Details

Joshua Tree is renowned for its diversity of plant life, with nearly 750 species of vascular plants. When the area was first proposed for preservation in the early 1930s, the name suggested was Desert Plants National Park. Two plants are especially associated with the park: The Joshua Trees themselves, and wildflowers. Like something straight out of a storybook, the twisted profile of the Joshua Tree, Yucca brevifolia, is instantly recognizable. A member of the agave family, the Joshua Tree is similar in appearance to the Mojave yucca, Yucca schidigera, which can be distinguished by its longer, wider leaves and fibrous threads curling along leaf margins. Although most prevalent in the Mojave Desert, Joshua Trees can be spotted growing next to a saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert in western Arizona or mixed with pines in the San Bernardino Mountains. American Indians have long used the trees for their useful properties, such as tough leaves to work into baskets and sandals, and flower buds and raw or roasted seeds included in the diet. Local Cahuilla American Indians have long referred to the tree as "hunuvat chiy'a" or "humwichawa." Legend has it that 19th-century Mormon pioneers named the tree after Joshua from the Bible, upon seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding them westward. The tallest Joshua Tree in the park is in the Queen Valley forest, and stands an imposing 40 feet high. Wildflowers may begin blooming in the lower elevations of the Pinto Basin and along the park's southern boundary in February and at higher elevations in March and April. Desert regions above 5,000 feet may see plants blooming as late as June. The extent and timing of the blooms in the park vary each year, depending on fall and winter precipitation, as well as spring temperatures. During the wildflower season, park staff and volunteers will compile their wildflower observations every week during that time to produce a list of the currently blooming wildflowers and where you can see them. Other plants in the park include bryophytes, cacti, lichens, shrubs, and trees, particularly the eponymous Joshua Tree. Bryophytes include mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, which lack roots, flowers or seeds. There are over 50 species of mosses in the park. Since they don't have roots, they don't need soil, so look for them on rock surfaces. Adapted to the desert heat through an internal cooling system, cacti are synonymous with the desert. There are 15 different kinds throughout Joshua Tree National Park, including hedgehog cactus, Mojave mound cactus and California barrel cactus. Lichens are quite sensitive to relative humidity, and grow only a fraction of an inch every year in Southern California. Many lichens that are only a few inches across in Joshua Tree National Park may easily be over 50 years old, and some could be hundreds of years old. The park is home to about 30 species, and the best places to spot them include the Skull Rock area, Ryan Mountain, the Wonderland of Rocks, Lost Horse Mountains, Juniper Flats, upper and lower Covington Flats and Eureka Peak. The park is also home to many other types of trees, including the California juniper, single-leaf pinyon, desert willow, ironwood, California fan palm, blue palo verde, smoketree, Gooding willow, Freemont cottonwood and mesquite.

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