Lekan, Thomas M. “An Otherworldly Species: Joshua Trees and the Conservation-Climate Dilemma.” Springs: The Rachel Carson Center Review, no. 1 (July 2022).
About 210 km east of Los Angeles, along the boundary of the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, stands a national park dedicated to the American Southwest’s most threatened botanical icon: the Joshua tree. With their shaggy bark, clusters of spiked leaves, and gnarled limbs reaching over 30 feet high, these trees (actually, they are succulents related to yuccas: Yucca brevifolia) reminded nineteenth-century Mormons of the biblical prophet Joshua with his arms stretched out in supplication—a gesture that befits these whimsical-looking and imperiled plants. (From the article)
This article was originally published in Springs: The Rachel Carson Center Review. The journal is an online publication featuring peer-reviewed articles, creative nonfiction, and artistic contributions that showcase the work of the Rachel Carson Center and its community across the world.
2022 Thomas M. Lekan
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