Where Are The Joshua Trees?

Where Are The Joshua Trees?. Joshua Tree National Park. A common question asked by visitors entering Joshua Tree National Park through the southern entrance is “Where are the Joshua trees?” Sometime the Mojave yucca, a close relative is mistaken, for a Joshua tree. The reality is that Joshua trees do not grow in the southeastern part of the park. , Since it encompasses two deserts within its boundaries, Joshua Tree National Park is ecologically diverse. The higher, cooler Mojave Desert occupies the northwestern portion. To the southeast lies the Colorado Desert, sub district of the lower warmer Sonoran Desert, which stretches through southern Arizona and into Mexico. Although a few stands occur in the Great Basin deserts, the Joshua tree mainly grows between 3,000 and 6,700 feet in the Mojave Desert. Some the finest stands of Joshua trees are found in Joshua Tree National Park where the Mojave Desert reaches its southernmost point. The Mojave yucca is found in both Mojave and Colorado deserts., It is believed that the Joshua tree originated in Mexico (a relative, the Yucca filifera, the largest yucca found grows in the southern Chihauhuan Desert of Mexico). Ancestors of today’s Joshua trees probably spread north around six million years ago and adapted to colder weather. In fact, Joshua trees, unlike Mojave yuccas, may need a few frosty nights in order to bloom and grow. According to some researchers, Joshua trees found here flower and branch only when their growing tip, or meristem, is damaged by frost or other stresses.