Joshua tree

[ZPalms]

I know Joshua trees aren't tropical but I don't really know where I could post this since I do see people growing Yuccas along with palms but is this a joshua tree? because it looks very similar

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, ZPalms said:

I know Joshua trees aren't tropical but I don't really know where I could post this since I do see people growing Yuccas along with palms but is this a joshua tree? because it looks very similar

 That is likely Yucca aloifolia..  Sometimes referred to as Spanish Bayonet ( If you've ever run into one, you'll know where the common name came from, lol. )

Y. brevifolia, aka Joshua Tree, looks like this..  Highly doubt it would survive even a year in the southeast ( Very sensitive to wet / high humidity )  While there are some nice examples around, these aren't exactly as happy as they can be here in Phoenix, due to the extreme heat. Happier further north/ northwest where it is drier ..not quite as hot as we are here. 

[ZPalms]

6 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

 That is likely Yucca aloifolia..  Sometimes referred to as Spanish Bayonet ( If you've ever run into one, you'll know where the common name came from, lol. )

Y. brevifolia, aka Joshua Tree, looks like this..  Highly doubt it would survive even a year in the southeast ( Very sensitive to wet / high humidity )  While there are some nice examples around, these aren't exactly as happy as they can be here in Phoenix, due to the extreme heat. Happier further north/ northwest where it is drier ..not quite as hot as we are here. 

Awesome thanks, Yucca aloifolia looks so similar to a Joshua Tree, with the double head and all, I'll have to take more pictures of it when I go back there but do Yucca aloifolia have suckers and Joshua trees don't? or do they seed?

Edited April 22, 2022 by ZPalms

[Silas_Sancona]

5 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Awesome thanks, Yucca aloifolia looks so similar to a Joshua Tree, with the double head and all, I'll have to take more pictures of it when I go back there but do Yucca aloifolia have suckers and Joshua trees don't? or do they seed?

Y. aloifolia will sucker from the base.. One can also lop arms off of it and root them pretty easily..  Joshua Tree can sucker, but mainly just add arms as they age. 

Both will set seed after flowering .. if  ..  pollinated by the correct Moth, ..A specific type of Moth that is pretty much the only organism that pollinates Yucca.

W/ Yucca, there are two basic classifications,   Acaulescent, ..or rosette- forming types that never form a trunk..  and Arborescent,  ..those that form trunks like both Y. aloifolia, and brevifolia. 

[ZPalms]

3 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Y. aloifolia will sucker from the base.. One can also lop arms off of it and root them pretty easily..  Joshua Tree can sucker, but mainly just add arms as they age. 

Both will set seed after flowering .. if  ..  pollinated by the correct Moth, ..A specific type of Moth that is pretty much the only organism that pollinates Yucca.

W/ Yucca, there are two basic classifications,   Acaulescent, ..or rosette- forming types that never form a trunk..  and Arborescent,  ..those that form trunks like both Y. aloifolia, and brevifolia. 

Very interesting! Yuccas sound picky if they can only be pollinated by a specific moth, that sounds pretty funny and it's interesting how only a moth can pollinate it is that due to the flower opening at night?

I'm interested in growing one, I'll have to watch a video to see how I can take an arm off one 

[Silas_Sancona]

48 minutes ago, ZPalms said:

Very interesting! Yuccas sound picky if they can only be pollinated by a specific moth, that sounds pretty funny and it's interesting how only a moth can pollinate it is that due to the flower opening at night?

I'm interested in growing one, I'll have to watch a video to see how I can take an arm off one 

It's all about co -evolution. The Moth evolved w/ Yuccas, thus both depend upon one another.

Yucca can be hand pollinated as well, and a few species may be pollinated by a couple other insects.

https://bernheim.org/bernheim-pollinators-the-yucca-moth/

https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Invertebrates/Yucca-Moths