Editor’s note: This is the last of three columns on the discovery and naming of the Joshua tree, the icon of the Mojave Desert. The Joshua tree has not always been admired. The late author and ...

There has been much discussion lately concerning Joshua trees and global warming. Based upon questions I have received from readers, there seems to be some confusion about which yuccas are Joshua ...

Flowering plants only appear in the fossil record around 100 million years ago, and yet they comprise 90 percent of the plant kingdom. Meanwhile, around 75 percent of known animal species are insects.

If you took the Truffula tree imagined by Dr. Seuss, added more gnarled arms, and plunked it down in the Mojave Desert, you’d get the Joshua tree. Technically, the plant is known as the Yucca ...

Patterns of recruitment for Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree) were investigated on 3 elevational transects, 1000-2000 m, in the Spring and Sheep Mountain ranges of southern Nevada. Yucca brevifolia is ...

Scientists warn Yucca Valley’s iconic Joshua Tree could go extinct due to climate change, but some residents worry more environmental protections could hurt already struggling local economy. Named for ...

American Journal of Botany, Vol. 97, No. 2 (Feb., 2010), pp. 243-250 (8 pages) Extreme climate events are transforming plant communities in the desert Southwest of the United States. Abundant ...

Joshua Trees (Yucca brevifolia) are the largest of the yucca plants that grow naturally in the desert areas of southwestern California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. They prefer the dry, sandy soil of ...

A Los Angeles federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision not to provide Endangered Species Act protections for the imperiled Joshua tree is unlawful, according to court ...