I grew up in Hesperia, north of Joshua Tree National Park. Elevation - 3500 feet. Lots of Joshua Trees. The farther north you go (toward Victorville, Apple Valley) the elevation lowers, and so does the number of Joshua Trees.
I live in an area with many Joshua trees! Snowed today! Wish I could share a pic of these trees with a dusting of snow. Very porous wood, similar to palms.
btw $10,000 fine if one were to destroy a Joshua tree here and if you require the land one is on for a shop/home, etc... then they are relocated to an area where the elevation, soil/sunlight conditions, and number of nearby Joshuas are similar.
One thing I didn't hear mentioned is that it doesn't snow in those areas very often, which means the more branches a Joshua Tree has, the older it is. Wonderful video though. I lived in Utah most of my life and took many trips to Southern Utah, Las Vegas, Southern California, and seeing the Joshua Trees was always one my favorite parts of those trips.
I live in Mojave desert and love the Joshua Trees. They are interesting to look at and to stand by, like the Saguaros. They give off a sense of magnificence.
Joshua Trees are Mojave Desert and Saguaros are Sonoran Desert. There's one spot along US 93 between Wickenburg and Kingman that has both Josua Trees and Saguaros growing together. Is the only place like that I've ever seen. If you're ever on that road, keep your eyes peeled.
@@LuckyBaldwin777if you live in socal or Arizona you should try to grow Joshua trees they can grow here in the valley. I have a few Joshua saplings growing in pots and I have saguaro seedlings among other cacti. I believe the only reason they dont grow down here past the mountains is the infrequent rare freezes. Which they need constant ones to bloom and seed enough to establish a population. But they can survive here and if a freeze does happen it could induce flowering im sure. I hear the eastern population jaegeriana doesn’t need freezes to bloom or branch, it has a gene that forces it to randomly do it instead.
@blackkennedy3966 interesting, thanks. I'm in S AZ at about 2000' There are a few naturally occurring Sagauros here. They appear out of thick cactus patches, mainly Cow's Tongue. I always thought Joshua Trees didn't grow in the Sonoran desert because they don't like a monsoon season in the summer. I'll have to try a couple here. If I can keep the Mexican ground squirrels away from them, they might have a chance. They eat cactus. How they get around all the thorns is a mystery to me.
Love Joshua Trees. Thanks for this educational video. I used to go to the Park often, as I lived in Palm Sorings for more than 10 years. My fave getaway.
I used to work at the Nevada Test Site in the early 1990s. The was a "rim" of Joshua trees around the areas that had been used for open air nuclear testing. Most were about 5-6 feet tall and had been burned over one side but were still alive.
I don’t get how anybody ever thought Joshua Trees were lilies and not in the agave family. They are so obviously a type of yucca (a relative of agave). They look exactly like very tall yuccas.
I think there’s a bit of miscommunication going on here. A quick Wikipedia read says that the Joshua Tree was first described in 1871 as Yucca brevifolia. So the botanist who described it already knew it was a Yucca. I think what happened was that they previously thought the entire yucca family was part of the Lily family, but eventually decided to split yuccas into their own family.
If you have ever observed an Easter Lily up close you can see the similarity in the structure. The furthest north I have ever seen one grow is in Salt Lake City.I was informed by the resident(an amateur botanist) that if the crowns are kept clear of excessive snow, along with an area around the base they will grow here.By the way I first camped in Joshua Tree in 1969 or 70, it was still a monument then.
I visited Joshua Tree in 2000 (Wow! Has it really been that long ago?) and loved it. In addition to the "trees," I also found the large rocks to be interesting. I just want to add that I always find your videos very informative, interesting, and nicely produced. Great job! Please keep exploring and informing.
You talked about how the Joshua Tree grows in specific areas due to temps, elevation etc. There are many more plants that also grow in very narrow geo locations. To me what makes them so unique is the way they grow, and their appearence. You should do a story on the "Digger" Pine in California. "Pinus Sabiniana" also called the Gray Pine, Bull Pine, and Foothill Pine. It grows in only certain locations in the Sierra Nevada foothils. It was an important source of food for the native Americans that lived in those areas.
The Joshua Tree!! Love them! I just saw them for the first time in Southern Utah a few weeks ago. Listened to U2's "The Joshua Tree" while sitting under one.
The word tree is a structural definition not a phylogenetic definition. They are still trees: “ a woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some distance from the ground.”
A landscape designer told me a tree is any plant that can grow taller than 10 feet. One of my biology professors - a very wise woman - when asked would say things like “Which definition do you want?” Definitions sometimes depend on context.
I've been there many times back in my Marine Corps days. I lucked into duty driver for some generals wives and we picked up a park Ranger and he gave us a guided tour of the park. I was able to do this several times and ended up gathering some of my Marine buddies and we went and investigated the park further and loved it! I would love to go again but I don't think that I will ever be back to California in my life.
Know Joshua Tree NP like the back of my hand. Love that place, so spiritual to me. But I found an awesome joshua tree forest above Pahrump this winter. 4500'-5300' elevation and a great view of the Mt. Whitney crest with binos. You might even see a "wild" horse or 2.
There are so many of these in the northern Mexican states of Sonora, Coahuila, Baja, and maybe others. I'm not talking really close to the border, but even a hundred+ miles out. The highways are surrounded by them.
Thanks for the video! I went to Joshua Tree for the first time two years ago and was blown away by the beauty of those trees. I’ve been fascinated by them ever since.
Great video. You explained everything about its history and growing conditions perfectly Yes I would like to see more videos like this about different species.
I was amused by that also, although he was in pursuit of a desperado, I still thought it begged credulity to engage in mounted pursuit that distance from Dodge City. (Michael Learned was sure a peach though!)
I was fortunate to visit the Joshua Tree National Park outside of Palm Springs a number of years ago. Between the landscape and the "forest" it was mind blowing.
I grew up in Palmdale California. It is part of the antelope valley and it is called the high desert because of the 3000 FT elevation. There are Joshua trees all over the antelope valley and I remember those moths in the house all the time and I have never seen them anywhere else that I have lived. Until now, I had no idea those were Joshua moths and we're required for the Joshua tree to reproduce. Wow!
Thanks for the interesting video! I used to live in Arizona and we saw these allot when traveling through the desert to visit relatives after we moved. You really filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about these interesting desert Agave’s! 😁👍🌷🥳
Awesome video! I've been to Tikaboo valley a couple of time and the mix of Eastern & Western Joshua Trees is pretty cool. Not to nit pick, but it looks like you showed a grove Mojave Yucca for the unbranched Joshua Tree example. They can look similar, and their preferred habitat overlaps extensively with Joshua Trees, but the leaves are quite a bit longer (12" to 60") vs. Joshua Trees (6" - 12") and they seldom branch out. I've always felt like, young unbranched Johsua Trees look like Marge Simpson's hair....lol. When I first encountered Mojave Yuccas, I thought that they were just deformed Joshua Trees, but the ranger at the Mojave NP lined me out on the differences. Last year we gave some seeds (Western variety) to a friend that runs a fruit tree nursery in southern France and he was able to get all of them to sprout. I'm expecting there to be people planting them as ornamentals at some point. I've seen quite a few Sugaros, and Orgon Pipe Cactus in peoples yards too.
Great video!! I learned so many things about these beautiful trees and had no idea. I will appreciate them even more during my upcoming visit this year. ❤
Of the first video I've watched on your channel. Really great!. Just subbed. My family owns 5 acres in Joshua tree right near the monument. Such a beautiful and peaceful place
And, the Walker Joshes mingle there, with Foothill Grey Pines, Single-Leaf Pinon Pines, Canyon Live Oaks, and very sporadic Jeffrey Pines. I will take a liberty, to extend this Walker species overlap, all the way into, and up Ninemile Canyon, onto the Easternmost fringes of the Kern Plateau/Kennedy Meadows.
I have lived in the Mojave for 35 years. The largest stand of Joshua tress I have seen was on the Cima dome. Huge trees everywhere. Sadly I heard that many of these trees were lost to a fire a few years ago. I was too bummed out to go see.
Perhaps a video about swedish national park/s or nature reserve. For example, Stora Karlsön is the second oldest protected nature reserve in the world after Yellowstone national park.
Thanks. I've enjoyed the many times I've gotten to see these plants. I would like to have seen a bit more about the flowers, their colors, smells, etc. As for National Park species, The Steller Sea Lion or the Steller Jay would interest me.
I LOVE growing Joshua trees from seed. They sprout in 5 days, and love the heat/sun. VERY few cacti actually tolerate full sun in the desert southwest.
I see these "trees" and, they look just like the Yuca trees that grow in the state of Coahuila (like the tribe you mentioned early in your vid), in northeastern Mexico. Like, I can see a few of them from my window. And it's basically a spot in the arid/semi-arid heights with a very similar Goldilock climate with some freezes (like, a week ago we were below zero Celsius (30 Farenheit) and today we're dawning at 16 celsius (60ish Fahrenheit). I wonder if it's a sub-especies of it. Great video!
Thank you for your video. I went to visit Joshua Tree only once, but I didn't enter. Park enter fees Was so expensive, my jaw dropped . Couldn't afford it
I would love to know about the Mesquite trees. I haven’t been able to find anywhere how old they grow to be. They must have an incredible ecosystem around them as well.
I live in Palm Springs so they are tons of them just through the pass. What you almost never hear is how good they are at smoking and cooking. Now we have lots of mesquite out here to and that makes great grillin wood AND smokin wood, but I have to say after chopping down quite a few of these, Whoa- some of the tastiest bbq you are ever gonna taste. Once you go Joshua Tree- you're not gonna wanna grill with any other wood. It's got a sweetness to it, almost like a dark honey type taste and the smoke of it is really mild and clean- almost like live oak. These trees for sure need to be protected b/c I frankly don't know if I wanna cook with anything else ever.! Anywho, great vid- thanks.
I have a Joshua tree in my front yard in Houston Tx. I was worried I would never live to see it grow to a substantial height, but it seems to grow really fast in Houston. I’m assuming it’s due to increased rainfall but idk. Don’t worry I’m not in a flood plain and it’s planted in a giant raised rock garden. Learned that the hard way
I enjoyed the species overview! You note the transition in deserts, but that is an interesting debate on its own. To me (someone who grew up just south of JTNP), the Sonoran Desert ends at the Colorado River (because that’s where the saguaros stop). I call this region the Colorado Desert (like your map showed), but that’s confusing because it has nothing to do with the state of Colorado!
I remember the caterpillars that were the yucca moth and it was crazy! Whenever the moths came out every few years the other “predators” would be in the thousands.
I think you can call them trees. "Tree" isn't a taxonomic group, it's a growth habit. For example, there are many species of legumes that are trees. And the Joshua's fiberous trunk is woody-ish enough, I think.
I remember a couple decades ago someone telling me that Joshua trees were actually originally aquatic, when however many thousands upon thousands of years ago, the Mojave was submerged. I can't say if this is a fact, as the person who said this also stated that the only other environment they can thrive in is in the Middle East 🤷 very interesting plants nonetheless
There are many Joshua trees in Newada and many along the road from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon. It was beautiful sighting in November 2024 , while travelling to Grand Canyon.
Video idea: do a "review" of a joshua tree in Doug Demuro style, listing all their history and quirks and features like you did here. Mayyybe its just me but I'm listening to this and think your voice/cadence is unusually similar to Doug's.
Furthermore, the inspired the band "U2" album "The Yoshua Tree" highlighting the mythical America and capturing the wide open space of the desert in the process
I grow yucca from seed and propagate them from cuttings. They are some of the most resilient and tough plants out there. Awesome video!
I grew up in Hesperia, north of Joshua Tree National Park. Elevation - 3500 feet. Lots of Joshua Trees. The farther north you go (toward Victorville, Apple Valley) the elevation lowers, and so does the number of Joshua Trees.
I live in an area with many Joshua trees! Snowed today! Wish I could share a pic of these trees with a dusting of snow. Very porous wood, similar to palms.
btw $10,000 fine if one were to destroy a Joshua tree here and if you require the land one is on for a shop/home, etc... then they are relocated to an area where the elevation, soil/sunlight conditions, and number of nearby Joshuas are similar.
The snow is nice today 😊. Don’t move them they die
AV gang!
palmdale?
Phelan?
One thing I didn't hear mentioned is that it doesn't snow in those areas very often, which means the more branches a Joshua Tree has, the older it is. Wonderful video though. I lived in Utah most of my life and took many trips to Southern Utah, Las Vegas, Southern California, and seeing the Joshua Trees was always one my favorite parts of those trips.
I live in Mojave desert and love the Joshua Trees. They are interesting to look at and to stand by, like the Saguaros. They give off a sense of magnificence.
@@donnaw9040 Especially the old Joshua Trees in Yucca Valley. They're some of the biggest ones I've ever seen.
What a coincidence. I'm watching this video from Joshua Tree National Park right now.
Did they get better cell service or are you on starlink?
Awesome!!!
I was able to get cellular data service outside the park, but Starlink is a must inside the park.
Goals
I will be there in 2 months!!❤
Joshua Trees are Mojave Desert and Saguaros are Sonoran Desert. There's one spot along US 93 between Wickenburg and Kingman that has both Josua Trees and Saguaros growing together. Is the only place like that I've ever seen. If you're ever on that road, keep your eyes peeled.
The other place would be in somebodies yard. actually my yard 😉
@blackkennedy3966 That's cheating. lol
True. I should have said naturally occurring.
@@LuckyBaldwin777if you live in socal or Arizona you should try to grow Joshua trees they can grow here in the valley. I have a few Joshua saplings growing in pots and I have saguaro seedlings among other cacti. I believe the only reason they dont grow down here past the mountains is the infrequent rare freezes. Which they need constant ones to bloom and seed enough to establish a population. But they can survive here and if a freeze does happen it could induce flowering im sure. I hear the eastern population jaegeriana doesn’t need freezes to bloom or branch, it has a gene that forces it to randomly do it instead.
@blackkennedy3966 interesting, thanks. I'm in S AZ at about 2000' There are a few naturally occurring Sagauros here. They appear out of thick cactus patches, mainly Cow's Tongue. I always thought Joshua Trees didn't grow in the Sonoran desert because they don't like a monsoon season in the summer. I'll have to try a couple here. If I can keep the Mexican ground squirrels away from them, they might have a chance. They eat cactus. How they get around all the thorns is a mystery to me.
I drive that route a lot, since I live in Kingman, and I know exactly the spot your speaking of.
Love Joshua Trees. Thanks for this educational video. I used to go to the Park often, as I lived in Palm Sorings for more than 10 years. My fave getaway.
I used to work at the Nevada Test Site in the early 1990s. The was a "rim" of Joshua trees around the areas that had been used for open air nuclear testing. Most were about 5-6 feet tall and had been burned over one side but were still alive.
I don’t get how anybody ever thought Joshua Trees were lilies and not in the agave family. They are so obviously a type of yucca (a relative of agave). They look exactly like very tall yuccas.
I think there’s a bit of miscommunication going on here. A quick Wikipedia read says that the Joshua Tree was first described in 1871 as Yucca brevifolia. So the botanist who described it already knew it was a Yucca. I think what happened was that they previously thought the entire yucca family was part of the Lily family, but eventually decided to split yuccas into their own family.
@@coltrvspot on
If you have ever observed an Easter Lily up close you can see the similarity in the structure. The furthest north I have ever seen one grow is in Salt Lake City.I was informed by the resident(an amateur botanist) that if the crowns are kept clear of excessive snow, along with an area around the base they will grow here.By the way I first camped in Joshua Tree in 1969 or 70, it was still a monument then.
Still in the lily family!
@@jaredharris1940what. No
Clade:
Monocots
Order:
Asparagales
Family:
Asparagaceae
Subfamily:
Agavoideae
Genus:
Yucca
I visited Joshua Tree in 2000 (Wow! Has it really been that long ago?) and loved it. In addition to the "trees," I also found the large rocks to be interesting. I just want to add that I always find your videos very informative, interesting, and nicely produced. Great job! Please keep exploring and informing.
Very informative! Well done, young man! Thank you
VERY COOL! I am fascinated by the bristlecone pines of Great Basin Nat'l park
You talked about how the Joshua Tree grows in specific areas due to temps, elevation etc. There are many more plants that also grow in very narrow geo locations. To me what makes them so unique is the way they grow, and their appearence. You should do a story on the "Digger" Pine in California. "Pinus Sabiniana" also called the Gray Pine, Bull Pine, and Foothill Pine. It grows in only certain locations in the Sierra Nevada foothils. It was an important source of food for the native Americans that lived in those areas.
The Joshua Tree!! Love them! I just saw them for the first time in Southern Utah a few weeks ago. Listened to U2's "The Joshua Tree" while sitting under one.
Whenever I'm in the park I listen to that record too.
The word tree is a structural definition not a phylogenetic definition. They are still trees: “ a woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral branches at some distance from the ground.”
If palm trees are trees then so are Joshua trees. They are both monocot trees and who's wood differs from other woody angiosperms and gymnosperms.
@@gregkrakow872Joshua trees do actually have one more tree-like feature that sets them apart from palm trees: they develop branches
@@lasseb5612 Date palms and Saw palmettos are two palms that branch.
A landscape designer told me a tree is any plant that can grow taller than 10 feet.
One of my biology professors - a very wise woman - when asked would say things like “Which definition do you want?”
Definitions sometimes depend on context.
I loved being there and seeing them, as well as the stars and tarantulas.
Stars and tarantulas. Never heard such a saying before. Very cool.
Like seeing them during the day? Please say no! Will be there in a few months and hate spiders.
@@honodle7219 One of my best memories of the Mojave Desert is the stars, followed closely by the tarantulas. One of my buddies ate one live.
Love Joshua trees! We enjoy driving through these deserts. Thank you!! Who knew they weren't trees?? 🌵a buddy suguaro! Love them all!
I've been there many times back in my Marine Corps days. I lucked into duty driver for some generals wives and we picked up a park Ranger and he gave us a guided tour of the park. I was able to do this several times and ended up gathering some of my Marine buddies and we went and investigated the park further and loved it! I would love to go again but I don't think that I will ever be back to California in my life.
Please do videos on desert bighorn sheep and desert tortoise. Also cactus wren, and the various bat species that live in the desert.
Absolutely an awesome explanation for every one questioning where they came from!❤❤❤❤
Know Joshua Tree NP like the back of my hand. Love that place, so spiritual to me. But I found an awesome joshua tree forest above Pahrump this winter. 4500'-5300' elevation and a great view of the Mt. Whitney crest with binos. You might even see a "wild" horse or 2.
If we are talking creatures deserving a video, the cryptobiotic soil of Arches and Canyonlands is iconic.
Yes! Absolutely
Thank for noticing that 😊
Wonderful video, National Park Diaries 🌵
Absolutley LOVE this park. Had a ton of fun there last year.
Grew up in Phelan, Ca. Joshua trees everywhere. Everytime I see I Joshua I feel at home.
Just don't go around Phelan any Joshua trees. See what I did there?
There are so many of these in the northern Mexican states of Sonora, Coahuila, Baja, and maybe others. I'm not talking really close to the border, but even a hundred+ miles out. The highways are surrounded by them.
I Need to go visit the Joshua Trees ASAP. Thanks for the background, Cameron.
I love all new information. Thank You! A great Grandma that cannot go on those epic hikes aby more.
Thanks for the video! I went to Joshua Tree for the first time two years ago and was blown away by the beauty of those trees. I’ve been fascinated by them ever since.
Great video. You explained everything about its history and growing conditions perfectly Yes I would like to see more videos like this about different species.
I was amused by the "Gunsmoke" episode wherein Matt Dillon was shown walking among the Joshua trees. Long way from Kansas.
I was amused by that also, although he was in pursuit of a desperado, I still thought it begged credulity to engage in mounted pursuit that distance from Dodge City. (Michael Learned was sure a peach though!)
I was fortunate to visit the Joshua Tree National Park outside of Palm Springs a number of years ago. Between the landscape and the "forest" it was mind blowing.
I grew up in Palmdale California. It is part of the antelope valley and it is called the high desert because of the 3000 FT elevation. There are Joshua trees all over the antelope valley and I remember those moths in the house all the time and I have never seen them anywhere else that I have lived. Until now, I had no idea those were Joshua moths and we're required for the Joshua tree to reproduce. Wow!
I have a Joshua in my front yard and now I know much more about it, mainly about the sub species. Thank you.
What a beautifully articulated video
Awesome video would love to see more!
There’s something magical about these guys. I loved them as a child and I still do
Thanks for the interesting video! I used to live in Arizona and we saw these allot when traveling through the desert to visit relatives after we moved. You really filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge about these interesting desert Agave’s! 😁👍🌷🥳
I have a yard full of these and I've never Seen a moth on the flowers but the bees sure love them
Good presentation. I enjoyed it!
from SoCal and my dream is to purchase a property with a couple joshua trees in it 🥺 they are so fascinating!
Saw my first Joshua tree in person in early 2025. Thanks for the info, and looked like you shot this footage! 💯 to that effort level!
Let's face it, The Joshua Tree is the greatest U2 album...
I been thru there on a few family road trips, and spent a weekend at a friend's house real close to the park in the 80:'s. I love the high desert.
Informative and beautiful video
Desert Dagger sounds sooo much cooler man wow
Yes to more vids like this please. Well done. Thank you
Awesome video! I've been to Tikaboo valley a couple of time and the mix of Eastern & Western Joshua Trees is pretty cool. Not to nit pick, but it looks like you showed a grove Mojave Yucca for the unbranched Joshua Tree example. They can look similar, and their preferred habitat overlaps extensively with Joshua Trees, but the leaves are quite a bit longer (12" to 60") vs. Joshua Trees (6" - 12") and they seldom branch out. I've always felt like, young unbranched Johsua Trees look like Marge Simpson's hair....lol. When I first encountered Mojave Yuccas, I thought that they were just deformed Joshua Trees, but the ranger at the Mojave NP lined me out on the differences. Last year we gave some seeds (Western variety) to a friend that runs a fruit tree nursery in southern France and he was able to get all of them to sprout. I'm expecting there to be people planting them as ornamentals at some point. I've seen quite a few Sugaros, and Orgon Pipe Cactus in peoples yards too.
Great video!! I learned so many things about these beautiful trees and had no idea. I will appreciate them even more during my upcoming visit this year. ❤
Interesting and educational. Well done. THX!
Joshua trees look like people out of the corner of my eye.
Of the first video I've watched on your channel. Really great!. Just subbed.
My family owns 5 acres in Joshua tree right near the monument. Such a beautiful and peaceful place
Wonderful documentary, Thanks so much.
When I was a kid living in Lancaster, CA, they were a common. They scared my mother; we got endless lectures to stay away from them.
I’d like more videos like this
I can't imagine any Wild West movie without these trees.
Born in Victorville on the old George AFB. Loved these as a kid.
Love it, team plants 🪴
In Texas we have mini Joshua trees every couple years when the yucca grow between freezes
The lizard shown at 6:23 is a Long-nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii). I see an overlay of text acknowledging that ID.
Yes please more videos on bopth flora and fauna in your conservation national parks.
Just found the channel. Nice information, liked and subscribed.
❤ Cool video. Thanks ❤
Thank you!
There's a lot of them along hwy 178 through Walker's pass.
And, the Walker Joshes mingle there, with Foothill Grey Pines, Single-Leaf Pinon Pines, Canyon Live Oaks, and very sporadic Jeffrey Pines. I will take a liberty, to extend this Walker species overlap, all the way into, and up Ninemile Canyon, onto the Easternmost fringes of the Kern Plateau/Kennedy Meadows.
Good video. Would love a great video on the California Condors.
Me too. I want them back in the Columbia River Gorge as well
Lovely clip..
good video.good delivery.
Been there and enjoyed our visit.
I have lived in the Mojave for 35 years. The largest stand of Joshua tress I have seen was on the Cima dome. Huge trees everywhere. Sadly I heard that many of these trees were lost to a fire a few years ago. I was too bummed out to go see.
Perhaps a video about swedish national park/s or nature reserve. For example, Stora Karlsön is the second oldest protected nature reserve in the world after Yellowstone national park.
Enjoyed it. Yes, I would like to see more.
Excellent!
Thanks. I've enjoyed the many times I've gotten to see these plants. I would like to have seen a bit more about the flowers, their colors, smells, etc. As for National Park species, The Steller Sea Lion or the Steller Jay would interest me.
in the 70's we used to go rock climbing there. Love the Joshua Trees. i assume people still do that there.
I purchased one from a nursery and am growing it in Pendleton, Oregon. We get about 12 inches of rain a year.
I have these Joshua Trees in my yard.
I LOVE growing Joshua trees from seed. They sprout in 5 days, and love the heat/sun. VERY few cacti actually tolerate full sun in the desert southwest.
Not cacti Joshua trees aren’t cacti
I see these "trees" and, they look just like the Yuca trees that grow in the state of Coahuila (like the tribe you mentioned early in your vid), in northeastern Mexico. Like, I can see a few of them from my window. And it's basically a spot in the arid/semi-arid heights with a very similar Goldilock climate with some freezes (like, a week ago we were below zero Celsius (30 Farenheit) and today we're dawning at 16 celsius (60ish Fahrenheit). I wonder if it's a sub-especies of it. Great video!
I love Joshua trees! They are literally tree sized yuccas!
Thank you for your video. I went to visit Joshua Tree only once, but I didn't enter. Park enter fees Was so expensive, my jaw dropped . Couldn't afford it
Live this so much and all the delighted commenters
The Joshua Trees out at Edwards AFB are some of the biggest and most numerous I’ve seen even more so than the state park.
I would love to know about the Mesquite trees. I haven’t been able to find anywhere how old they grow to be. They must have an incredible ecosystem around them as well.
I live in Palm Springs so they are tons of them just through the pass. What you almost never hear is how good they are at smoking and cooking. Now we have lots of mesquite out here to and that makes great grillin wood AND smokin wood, but I have to say after chopping down quite a few of these, Whoa- some of the tastiest bbq you are ever gonna taste. Once you go Joshua Tree- you're not gonna wanna grill with any other wood. It's got a sweetness to it, almost like a dark honey type taste and the smoke of it is really mild and clean- almost like live oak. These trees for sure need to be protected b/c I frankly don't know if I wanna cook with anything else ever.! Anywho, great vid- thanks.
I have a Joshua tree in my front yard in Houston Tx. I was worried I would never live to see it grow to a substantial height, but it seems to grow really fast in Houston. I’m assuming it’s due to increased rainfall but idk. Don’t worry I’m not in a flood plain and it’s planted in a giant raised rock garden.
Learned that the hard way
I enjoyed the species overview! You note the transition in deserts, but that is an interesting debate on its own. To me (someone who grew up just south of JTNP), the Sonoran Desert ends at the Colorado River (because that’s where the saguaros stop). I call this region the Colorado Desert (like your map showed), but that’s confusing because it has nothing to do with the state of Colorado!
well done
I remember the caterpillars that were the yucca moth and it was crazy! Whenever the moths came out every few years the other “predators” would be in the thousands.
I think you can call them trees. "Tree" isn't a taxonomic group, it's a growth habit. For example, there are many species of legumes that are trees. And the Joshua's fiberous trunk is woody-ish enough, I think.
This is correct. Yucca brevifolia is 100% a tree.
I remember a couple decades ago someone telling me that Joshua trees were actually originally aquatic, when however many thousands upon thousands of years ago, the Mojave was submerged. I can't say if this is a fact, as the person who said this also stated that the only other environment they can thrive in is in the Middle East 🤷 very interesting plants nonetheless
There are many Joshua trees in Newada and many along the road from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon. It was beautiful sighting in November 2024 , while travelling to Grand Canyon.
Have one in my yard I live in Hesperia Ca.
If you want to see the most dense Joshua tree forest, head east 1 hour into Arizona from Las Vegas. Its as dense as it's likely to get anywhere.
When I drove to Grand Canyon west rim, the road passed through a beautiful Grove of Joshua trees.
Grew up in St. George, Utah; in Northeast corner of the Mohave Desert. Joshua Trees were commonplace.
Video idea: do a "review" of a joshua tree in Doug Demuro style, listing all their history and quirks and features like you did here. Mayyybe its just me but I'm listening to this and think your voice/cadence is unusually similar to Doug's.
Great vid. It's too bad that Cima Dome fire in the Mojave Preserve wiped out a large grove of them a few years ago.
Furthermore, the inspired the band "U2" album "The Yoshua Tree" highlighting the mythical America and capturing the wide open space of the desert in the process
Please produce more content along these lines.