Thursday, January 15, 2009

Joshua Tree

6 comments:

Ann Somerville said...

that's gorgeous!

azteclady said...

*waving* Hello there!

(Do I show my country bumpkin side when I say I still get tickled at the idea of snow in the desert?)

T.T. Thomas said...

@Ann

Isn't it though?

T.T. Thomas said...

@ALady...I know, the whole idea of snow in the desert is one of many surprises I've had since moving here. This often barren-looking place is positively teeming with life...we have deert tortises that are over a hundred years old.

Here's something else I didn't know until I moved here, but Karyn did. (and I've copied from a site called desert usa to which I've lost the link):

"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. In fact, the female Yucca Moth has evolved special organs to collect and distribute the pollen onto the surface of the flower. She lays her eggs in the flowers' ovaries, and when the larvae hatch, they feed on the yucca seeds. Without the moth's pollination, the Joshua Tree could not reproduce, nor could the moth, whose larvae would have no seeds to eat. "

Now that's some symbiotic relationship!

T.T. Thomas said...

Ooops...we also have Desert Tortoises!

azteclady said...

That's amazing information, TT!

Reminds me a bit of something I read about a tree species which depended on a bird species eating the fruit so that the seeds could germinate--if the seeds didn't pass through the birds' digestive system, their shell didn't soften enough to germinate.

Hmm... I should go find the proper reference--my brain wants to say this applies to the Galápagos islands, but really can't vouch for it right now.