Yucca brevifolia
Yucca brevifolia (also known as the Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca) is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names.
| Joshua tree | |
|---|---|
| In Joshua Tree National Park, California | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Asparagaceae |
| Subfamily: | Agavoideae |
| Genus: | Yucca |
| Species: | Y. brevifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Yucca brevifolia | |
| Natural range in the United States | |
| Synonyms | |
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This monocotyledonous tree is native to the arid Southwestern United States, specifically California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada, and, according to Plants of the World Online, also to northwestern Mexico. It is confined mostly to the Mojave Desert between 400 and 1,800 m (1,300 and 5,900 ft) elevation. It thrives in the open grasslands of Queen Valley and Lost Horse Valley in Joshua Tree National Park. Other regions with large populations of the tree can be found northeast of Kingman, Arizona, in Mohave County; and along U.S. 93 between the towns of Wickenburg and Wikieup, a route which has been designated the Joshua Tree Parkway of Arizona. The trees are abundant in Saddleback Butte State Park only 85 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles in Los Angeles County's Antelope Valley. The common name Joshua tree apparently comes from Christian iconography.