the.com/joshua tree
A desert giant that's secretly a lily wearing the world's spikiest disguise.
means A tall, branching yucca with spiky clusters of stiff leaves, native to the Mojave Desert of the American Southwest.
from The popular story credits 19th-century Mormon settlers crossing the Mojave, who supposedly saw the tree's outstretched limbs and were reminded of the prophet Joshua raising his arms to the sky in prayer — though the specifics are more legend than documented fact. Botanically it's no tree at all but a yucca, a member of the agave family (and a distant relative of the lily and asparagus), with 'yucca' itself borrowed via Spanish from a Caribbean Taíno word.
- not a tree
- It's a yucca, technically a giant lily relative
- mormon name
- Settlers saw a prophet pointing toward the promised land
- slow growth
- Grows roughly half an inch per year
- old timers
- Some living specimens exceed 300 years old
- moth deal
- Reproduces only via one loyal pollinating moth species
joshua tree national park — 3,242 sq mi desert park in california established 1936, named after the distinctive yucca trees
joshua tree u2 album — 1987 album by irish band u2, won grammy award for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals