|
©2006 Blayney Ranch
All Rights Reserved
Last Update:
06/10/2007
Web designed by,
YorkWare Graphic Design
| |
The various types of plant life growing on
Blayney Ranch
The Joshua Tree, the largest member of the yucca family, grows only in the Mojave Desert. This spectacular plant has become the symbol of the Mojave Desert. Mormon pioneers named the species for the biblical figure Joshua, because the trees uplifted limbs reminded them of Joshua praying and pointing to the heavens. 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 and individual trees can live for perhaps 200 years or more. 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. This medium-to-large evergreen shrub has numerous flexible stems projecting at an angle from its base. It is usually less than 4 feet high, but can grow to 12-foot heights with abundant water. Its small (1/4 to 1/2 inches), pointed, yellow-green leaves have adapted to conserve water and dissipate heat. The bush may lose some of these waxy, resinous leaves during extreme drought, but never loses them all. These leaves are especially pungent after a rain, and have been used as antiseptics and emetics by native peoples.
Sometimes called "Jumping Cholla" these plants are both beautiful and treacherous at the same time. The cute little fuzzy parts of the Cholla cactus seem to "jump" off and if you aren't careful, they can quickly attach themselves to you. They are extremely tenacious and very hard to remove. The very slender barbed spines penetrate the skin quite easily. A pair of needle nose pliers is the most effective tool to remove them. Extreme caution should be used while working around a Cholla. You recognize them as they blow across the highway in front of your car, but this is how they look before being up rooted.
The Joshua Tree, the largest member of the yucca family, grows only in the Mojave Desert. This spectacular plant has become the symbol of the Mojave Desert. Mormon pioneers named the species for the biblical figure Joshua, because the trees uplifted limbs reminded them of Joshua praying and pointing to the heavens. 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 and individual trees can live for perhaps 200 years or more.
|
.jpg "Joshua Tree")
.jpg "Cholla Cactus")
.jpg "Tumbleweed")
