Nature - Plants & Flowers

A very large Joshua tree ( Yucca brevifola ) in the Mojave National Reserve, California. They don't usually have this many branches! The shrubs around it with the small dark yellowish-green leaves are creosote bush, another characteristic component of the Mojave floral assemblage. Joshua trees are supposed to have gotten their name from Mormon emigrants, who thought they looked like the prophet Joshua beckoning them onward. If Hollywood had filmed more Westerns in the Mojave back in the day, the Joshua tree, rather than the saguaro, might be an icon of the American West. As it is, they are prominent in the opening scenes of _The Right Stuff_, where Chuck Yeager was knocked off his horse by one. Edwards Air Force Base is in the Mojave and Joshua trees are locally abundant around it, so that's not poetic license! Map location is approximate.