Joshua Tree National Park Geocoin

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Tracking Number: NP5DA2

Teil der Coinsammlung der Kanustation Mirow / poseptun

The Joshua tree, Yucca brevifolia, is a giant member of the lily family. Like the California fan palm, Washingtonia filfera, the Joshua tree is a monocot, in the subgroup of flowering plants which also includes grasses and orchids. The Joshua tree provides a good indicator that you are in the Mojave Desert, but you may also find it growing next to a saguaro cactus in the Sonoran Desert in western Arizona or mixed with pines in the San Bernardino Mountains.

Years ago, the Joshua tree was recognized by Native Americans for its useful properties; tough leaves were worked into baskets and sandals, and raw or roasted flower buds and seeds made a healthy addition to the diet.The local Cahuilla tribe has long referred to the tree as "hunuvat chiy'a" or "humwichawa;" both names now rest with a few elders still fluent in the language.

By the mid 19th century, Mormon migrants had made their way across the Colorado River. Legend has it that these pioneers named the tree after the prophet Joshua, seeing the Joshua tree limbs outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward. Concurrent with Mormon settlers, ranchers and miners arrived in the high desert with high hopes of raising cattle and digging for gold. These homesteaders used the Joshua tree's limbs and truncks for fencing and corrals. Miners found a source of fuel for the steam engines used in processing ore.

Today we enjoy this yucca for its grotesque appearance, a surprising sight in the landscape of biological interest. The Joshua tree's lifr cycle begins with the rare germination of a seed, its survival dependent upon well timed rains. Young sprouts may grow several inches in the first five years, then slow dow, averaging one half inch per year thereafter. The tallest Joshua tree in the park looms a whopping forty feet high, a grand presence in the Queen Valley forest; it is estimated to be over nine hundred years old. These "trees" do not have growth rings like you would find in an oak or pine. This makes aging difficult, but you can divide the height of a Joshua tree by the average annual growth of one half inch to get a rough estimate.

Spring rains may bring clusters of white green flowers on the long stocks at branch tips. Like all desert blooms, Joshua trees depend on just the perfect conditions: well timed rains and for the Joshua tree, a crisp winter freeze. Researchers believe that below freezing temperatures may damage the growing end of a branch and stimulate flowering followed by branching. Some Joshua trees grow straight stalks; these trees have never bloomed, which is why they are branchless. In additions to ideal weather, the pollination of flowers requires a visit from the yucca moth. The moth collects pollen while laying her eggs inside the flower ovary. As seeds develope and mature, the eggs hatch into larve which feed on the seeds. The tree relies on the moth for pollination and the moth relies on the tree for a few seeds for her young, a happy symbiosis. The Joshua tree is also capable of sprouting from roots and branches. Being able to reproduce vegetatively allows a much quicker recovery after damaging floods or fires which may kill the main tree.

Many birds, mammals, reptiles and insects depend on the Joshua tree for food and shelter. Keep your eyes open for the yellow and black flash of a Scott's oriole busy making a nest in the yucca branches. At the base of rocks you may find a wood rat nest built with protective spiny yucca leaves. As evening falls, the desert night lizard begins poking around under the log of a fallen Joshua tree in search of tasty insects.

The Joshua tree is and important part of the Mojave Desert ecosystem, providing habitats for numerous birds, mammals, insects and lizards. Joshua tree forests tell a story of survival, resilience, and beauty borne through perseverance.