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Description: The
Creosote Bush is the most characteristic feature of North America's
hot deserts. It is one of the best examples of a plant that
tolerates arid conditions simply by its toughness. It competes
aggressively with other plants for water, and usually wins,
accounting for its prevalence in many arid locations of the
southwest.
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Description: Christmas
Cactus, also known as Tsejo, Christmas, Cholla, Pencil-joint Cholla,
Holycross Cholla, Diamond Cactus and Darning Needle Cactus, has the
most slender stems of all southwestern chollas. Many tangled, spiny branches sprout thin, 1/4-inch stems forming a
bush up to 3 feet high in the open, up to 6 feet when growing among
desert trees. One long gray or tan spine up to 2 inches long grows
from each small cluster of reddish bristles.
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Description: The Joshua Tree, the largest of the yuccas, grows
only in the Mojave Desert. Natural stands of this picturesque,
spike-leafed evergreen grow nowhere else in the world. Its height
varies from 15-40 feet with a diameter of 1-3 feet. Joshua trees
(and most other yuccas) rely on the female Pronuba Moth (Tegeticula)
for pollination. No other animal visiting the blooms transfers the
pollen from one flower to another.
Mormon pioneers are said to have named this species
"Joshua" Tree because it mimicked the Old Testament
prophet Joshua waving them, with upraised arms, on toward the
promised land.
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Habitat Description: Well-drained slopes and plains, especially those with a
layer of caliche, up to 4,000 feet. Often the most abundant shrub,
even forming pure stands.
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Habitat Description: Desert slopes, washes and flat areas from 1,000 to 4,000
feet.
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Habitat Description: Dry soils on plains, slopes and mesas, often growing in
groves.
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Importance:
The Creosote Bush is the most characteristic feature of North
America's hot deserts. It is one of the best examples of a plant
that tolerates arid conditions simply by its toughness.
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Importance: Fleshy, bright red, 1/2-inch-long globular fruits
remain on the stems throughout the winter. Many insects, small
mammals and even some lizards feed on these fruits.
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Importance: The Joshua tree is often used an
indicator plant during the research and studying of the Mojave
desert. Without the Joshua tree the Yucca Moth would not be able to
reproduce.
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