#Pollen germination

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Depth color-coded projection showing a germinating pollen grain of a morning glory attached to the stigma.

By Igor Siwanowicz (USA).

Light Microscopy Awards

[botanyshitposts]

Nothing like inhaling massive amounts of plant semen all summer

*grabs you by the shoulders* listen don’t get it twisted you CANNOT get it twisted. those are plant penises, NOT the sperm. once the pollen lands on the female structure in question, THEN it germinates and makes the sperm. do you know how many college biology students are threatened by this misinformation each year?? how many fall victim to the classic blunder??

[corbinite]

Thinking about the alternation of generations in plants and algae

[tenth-sentence]

SSI incompatibility reactions typically block pollen growth prior to hydration and germination.

"Plant Physiology and Development" int'l 6e - Taiz, L., Zeiger, E., Møller, I.M., Murphy, A.

[greenwitchcrafts]

Mugwort

Artemisia Vulgaris

Known as: Artemis herb, artemisia, artemisia herb, cingulum sancti johannis, felon herb, muggons, naughty man, old man, old uncle Henry, sailor's tobacco & St.John plant

Related plants: A member of the daisy family Asteraceae that consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within it such as chamomile, coneflowers, dahlia, daisy, dandelion, goldenrod, lettuce, marigold & sunflower

Parts used: Leaves & flowers

Habitat & cultivation: Common mugwort is native to Europe and Eastern Asia. Mugwort was brought into North America as early as the 1600’s for medicinal purposes. It spread throughout the Northeastern U.S. as a contaminant on ships and nurseries.

Plant type: Perennial

Region: 3-8

Harvest: The flowering tops of mugwort should be collected once they bloom or right before the blooms open. The leaves of mugwort plants should be collected before the plant flowers. Older leaves & flowers are significantly more bitter

Planting tips: Mugwort seeds can benefit from a special 1 to 2 week treatment called cold moist stratification prior to planting them & need cold weather to break down germination inhibitors. The seeds require light to germinate, so be careful not to cover them when planting. Mugwort does not like to be overwatered & is very drought tolerant. It is also an invasive weed & best kept in a container.

Medicinal information: Historically mugwort has been used in traditional systems of medicine in different parts of the world. Today, mugwort taken orally is promoted for digestive problems, irregular menstruation, and high blood pressure. It is also promoted as a sedative, laxative, anti-inflammatory & liver tonic. Mugwort lotion applied topically can aid in itching caused by hypertrophic scars & When being smoked, it exhibits mild intoxicating properties & strong relaxing properties.

Cautions: Mugwort should not be taken by pregnant people because it may start menstruation and cause the uterus to contract. Little is known about whether it’s safe to use mugwort while chestfeeding. Mugwort might cause an allergic reaction in people with pollen sensitivities

Magickal Properties

Gender: Feminine

Planet: Venus & Neptune

Element: Earth

Deities: Aida Wedo, Artemis, Diana, Isis, Lakshimi & St.John

Magickal uses:

•Place under your pillow to bringing peaceful sleep, prophetic dreams & aid in astral travel

• Add to incense for cleansing and clearing energy

• Place around scrying tools to increase their energy

• Add to herbal smoke blends to stimulate lucid dreaming, astral travel & visualization

• Make an infusion of mugwort to wash magic mirrors and crystal balls to aid in physic workings

• Burn with Sandalwood or wormwood for scrying rituals

• Carry in a satchets for protection and increasing lust, fertility & preventing back pain

• Throw mugwort in a fire during Midsummer for protection for the following year

• Keep under your doorstep to keep annoying visitors away

• Use in tea before bed to encourage lucid dreaming

• Hang mugwort over or on a door to keep unwelcome energies from passing through

• During a storm or when your life feels threatened by impending dangers, toss into your hearth fire or cauldron to keep you safe

•Wash your hands with a mugwort infusion to increase energy flow before tarot or pendulum readings

Sources:

Farmersalmanac.com

The Herbal Alchemist Handbook by Karen Harrison

The Book of Flower Spells by Cheralyn Darcey

Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences by Sandra Kines

A Witch's Book of Correspondences by Viktorija Briggs

The Encyclopedia of Natural Magic by John Michael Greer

Wild Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer

Plant Witchery by Juliet Diaz

A Compendium of Herbal Magick by Paul Beyerl

Wikipedia

[delinquentcoyote]

☆☆☆ Saving Seeds ☆☆☆

Sexual reproduction in plants (flowers -> pollen -> seeds -> plants) occurs in 2 steps, in-plant and germination. By hand pollinating imperfect plants, saving seeds and providing the best germination conditions, we can create the healthiest and strongest plants with the best qualities.

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Getting the best seeds: Imperfect v perfect plants

First, you must determine which genes you want to propagate. This is most easily done by making a tally list if you’re working with different varieties, or by closely monitoring the plants you have. Look for genetically advantageous traits such as:

○ High germination (most seeds you plant come up)

○ Thick, healthy stalks

○ Temperature resilience

○ Size, taste, and health of fruit

○ Large, healthy roots

Generally, the plants that do the best in the conditions you intend to save seeds for

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(Flowering) plants in general are divided into 2 main categories: perfect and imperfect.

Perfect plants have both the male and female parts in one flower. These plants can only be genetically affected at seed gathering, gather seeds from only the plants with the traits you want

Imperfect plants produce male flowers and female flowers. These can be genetically affected at the point of flower. For example, if you have 5 female zucchini plants and 2 males, you can choose to only pollinate the females with the healthier male flowers in order to put healthier genes in the seeds produced by the females.

● How to: hand pollinating

○ Determine which plants are male and which are female. This is most easily done by looking within flowers for long “sticks” with balls of pollen on the ends. These are called Stamen, and indicate a male flower. Female flowers will not have these presents.

○ Next, find the healthiest or few healthiest of the male plants and snip these flowers off. Remove the petals, and rub the stamen into the female flowers. Cut off and discard the less superior male plants flowers. Ensure proper fertilization by making sure the female plants fruit.

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Seed Saving

Seed saving is finicky business, this is a general guide for techniques, but research your specific plant family for more specific rules for seed saving.

Step one. Harvest ripe or overripe fruit/seed, considering genetics.

Set fruit/seed outside of direct sunlight for around a week, or until seed/fruit is dry or semi dry.

Separate husks/fruit from seed without using water

Let seeds fully dry, a drying rack may be useful but is not fully necessary. Do not place seeds in direct sun/uv as this may damage the seed or encourage unwanted germination.

Store seeds until ready for use. Store inside in a dark, room temperature space in an airtight container (jars work best!). If you notice moisture gathering in the container, repeat drying. Seeds will stay viable for differing times, but in general the first 6 months to year will produce the best germination and happiest plants. Do not let seeds get over 80 degrees or under 55.

-A

☆☆☆☆☆☆

[bakawitch]

Dunno how, but I somehow finished it. Tiredly sketched, probably not gonna redo it for a while. Behold!

The Mortality Miracle Box

Each of the kwamis represents concepts built around life/death. These specific kwamis are more like lab made spiritual parasites that find themselves a suitable host and attach themselves to them. These are their more appealing base forms. They don't have eldritch god forms like canon kwamis because they are not gods, but they do have a hidden form that resembles real-life parasites. They don't have set miraculouses, instead they inject themselves into the host bodies. They also have the ability to take over their hosts' bodies during transformation.

Fungus of Reanimation

Kwami: Immo

they/it

Tool: staff

Power: Parasitism - The power to reanimate corpses with the use of spores released from the staff. The corpses are animated by fungi colonies, and they often grow over the bodies of the zombies.

Rabbit of Evocation

Kwami: Riitus

she/her

Tool: hammer

Power: Séance - The power to summon spirits from the ground by smashing the hammer on it. The spirits often resemble cartoonish dust bunnies.

Dragonfly of Invigoration

Kwami: Faata

they/them

Tool: fans

Power: Fight and Flight - The power to go into a frenzy during which the user becomes temporarily stronger and faster and immediately regenerates all bodily harm on themselves, no matter how severe. The ability sometimes activates on its own when the user is injured.

Feret of Germination

Kwami: Valla

he/him

Tool: pollen bombs (basket)

Power: Gardenia - The power to control and accelerate the growth of plants in a certain radius.

Cat of Realisation

Kwami: Ress

he/him

Tool: throwing darts

Power: Snare - The power to cause someone to have a hard truth revealed about themselves, which causes the target to freeze up and become petrified.

Fox of Divination

Kwami: Guuri

she/her

Tool: scrying mirror

Power: Oracle - The power to ask questions and receive relevant prophecies from the mirror. The prophecies are usually communicated through riddles and rhymes, and they always come to be.

Deer of Retrospection

Kwami: Oriia

he/her

Tool: cassette player

Power: Rewind - The power to create a cassette tape that replays anything that has ever happened in the location in which the user is currently located in the form of an illusory projection. The tape can also be weaponised.

Dove of Fulguration

Kwami: Riell

she/her

Tool: pendulum

Power: Lunation - The power to emmit a hot bright light that disintegrates things in its way. The closer something is to the light and/or the longer it's exposed to it, the more likely it will get vapourized completely.

Wolf of Separation

Kwami: Aalis

they/them

Tool: scissors

Power: Double Trouble - The power to separate the body from the shadow and give it limited access to the physical world. The user can communicate and exert full control over the shadow.

🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄

And that's it! Still can't believe I finished these this fast XD

[oaresearchpaper]

Olive Genotypes in Pakistan: Phenology and Pollen Assessment

Abstract

Pollen viability and germination tests are consider key factors for final productivity. Hence characterization of pollen and phenological aspects of eighteen olive cultivars were studied under an experiment carried out at Barani Agricultural Research Institute, Chakwal, Pakistan. Pollen viability was tested through Acetocarmine and germination was analyzed in the culture media having water, boric acid, sucrose and agar.  Results depicted that the maximum number of panicles were recorded in variety Earlik (27.90) and minimum in variety Ottobratica. In general more number of panicles was recorded in 2018 in all most all the varieties as compared to 2017. Highest numbers of flower per branch were observed in variety Ottobratica in both years of study. Staminate flowers were also noted at maximum level again in variety Ottobratica. Maximum final fruit set percentage was recorded in variety Moraiolo (4.23 %) and Coratina (3.70 %) in first year of study while Coratina (3.75 %) and Frantoio (3.59 %) depicted highest fruit set percentage in second year of study. Maximum pollen viability (79.18% & 53.08) was recorded by in Variety Gemlik while minimum values were recorded in Variety Leccino (27.16 % & 47.62 %) in both the years 2017 & 2018 respectively. The germination rate varied among all the varieties. Varieties Ottobratica and Gemlik showed maximum value of pollen germination rate during the study year while minimum rate was recorded again in variety Leccino.

Introduction

Olive (Olea europaea L.) is an evergreen tree and prominent species of whole Mediterranean countries. Its cultivation can be traced back since ancient times and is also mentioned in the Holy Quran, Hebrew and the Christian Bibles (Flaishman et al., 2008). The olive fruit is a famous fruit tree worldwide for its oil and nutritional benefits. Successful fertilization and fruitlet persistence is directly dependent upon flower quality (Martins et al., 2006) which also predict pistil abortion rate, embrosac development, and receptivity of stigma, pollen viability and nitrogen and carbohydrate contents (Cuevas et al., 1994; Moreno-Aloaas et al., 2018). Large ovaries are associated with more fruit set. (Cuevas and Polito, 2004.) Flower quality is better in off year than on year production (Mazzeo et al., 2014). The length of inflorescence (3-8 cm) and number of inflorescence per branch and number of flower (15-30) per inflorescence varies with the cultivar (Martin and Sibbett, 2005). These characteristic may vary in each year, plant, branch, inflorescence (Brooks, 1948; Cuevas et al., 1994; Lavee et al., 1996; Lavee et al., 2002; Reale et al., 2006). The perfect or staminate flower may vary with the position of inflorescence (Bouranis et al., 1999; Dimassi et al., 1999; Ateyyeh et al., 2000; Cuevas and Polito, 2004).��

Most important features in olive fruit set are self-incompatibility, self-fertility and abnormalities in morphological traits. Various factor of sterility are present in olive like more or less related species which are responsible for productivity. Olive trees with good quality and quantity of viable pollens is essential for a good pollination. As a whole, there exists a linear relation between viability and germination capacity of pollen and germination capability in many fruit species (Stanley and Linskens, 1974). Both viability and germination depends on various factors like genotype, nutrition conditions, and biotic and a biotic factors (Khan and Perveen, 2008).Poor pollen viability and germination percentage cause less fecundation in olive (Bini, 1984; Tombesi, 2013). Pollen viability is a genetic trait (Vuletin-Selak et al., 2014) and estimated by various techniques and one of the most important is staining with acetocarmine jelly (Radford et al., 1974). 

Pollen germination is another important factor in olive fruit production. Growth of pollen tube in In vitro condition should be check to assess the pollen grain germination capability. Temperature and relative humidity has strong influence on pollen tube growth along with the humidity and growing media. 

There is a huge difference in pollen germination on stigma in open field condition and in vitro growth (Heslop-Harrison and Heslop-Harrison, 1981; Pinney and Polito, 1990; Kovacs and Barnabas, 1997). In vitro Pollen tube germination is very sensitive to growing media. In present conditions media is considered to be suitable having water, boric acid, sucrose and agar (Pinney and Polito, 1990) and citric acid (Al-Dehadhehetal et al., 2004).

The media containing 20% sucrose is optimal and more than 30 % cause inhibition of pollen tube growth (Lavee et al., 1985). Pollen ability, germination percentage and pollination of 18 olive cultivars were evaluated. It is believed that pollen ability is an important tool for pollination process for mono orchard cultivation. Major significant differences among cultivars for pollen abilities were listed with variation in characteristic with reference to time (Shemer et al., 2014).

Olive cultivation on commercial scale has no long history in Pakistan. But during the last ten years olive plantation has gained popularity because of its great socio-economic importance. More than 4494.36 hectares have been brought under olive cultivation in Pothwar region and 2,800 acre (280,004 plants) was cultivated other than Pothwar region under Federal and provincial Government, Pakistan (PARC, 2018; BARI, 2019).

A major aim was to examine phenology, pollen viability and germinating capacity of pollens of eighteen exotic olives for identifying the most suitable genotype for newly olive industry establishment.

[gabessquishytum]

"maybe [Gilbert's] into that" well okay now i'm having Thoughts!! because yeah just imagine, dream feels it when hob falls asleep and enters the dreaming, normally hob comes to him but this time he doesn't, so dream goes off to find his lover instead.

turns out hob didn't make his way to the palace because he was... otherwise occupied. dream thinks hob's just sitting naked in the grass of fiddler's green when he first gets a look at him. hob's looking awfully flustered for that to be all he's doing, though.

when dream stands in front of him the ground shifts, mounds rising under the grass and moving to push hob's legs apart before smoothing out again to leave him good and exposed -- and to give dream a good view of the mess of slim vines playing between his legs. there are a few in his ass and in his cunt, stretching him wide around without filling him up. there's one buried deep in his little peehole, another wrapped tight around the base of his swollen clit.

there's one leading deep into his cunt, and dream isn't clear of that one's purpose at first, not until hob squirms under dream's gaze and dream watches that vine pull taut when hob even begins to lift his hips away from the vines. that one's pushed through hob's cervix, tiny where it's buried in that tight hole but ballooning wide inside his womb so any little movement hob makes tugs at his cervix. it keeps him very effectively in place without tying him down, but it's also a deeply humiliating way to be restrained -- which means hob's dripping wet and writhing as much as he can manage and begging dream to do something because his holes are stretched open so wide but he feels so empty and he's desperate for something to properly fuck him.

dream expect he'll take pity on hob. eventually. but dream's been very clear that his arcana have full rights to play with hob as they wish, hob's been equally clear that he's thrilled with that arrangement, and dream's hardly going to get in the way if fiddler's green is enjoying himself, is he?

-🐈‍⬛

Ooo yes I really do love the idea of Dream "sharing" Hob with the major arcana!!! It's kind of a new thing ever since Dream returned from his imprisonment; a way for him to reconnect with these parts of himself that have become distant. But as wholesome as all that is, of course it leads to debauched shenanigans.

And Hob has never been fucked by an entire landscape before, so he's having a great time. Fiddler's Green is so much more thorough than any lover Hob has ever had - maybe because he moves and manipulates Hob’s body in a totally way totally different to how a being with hands and genitals would. He delves inside Hob like he's searching for the perfect place to plant a seed, and fuck if that isn't incredibly arousing.

But Fiddler's Green does like to tease, and its beautiful agony for Hob. He gets stretched open and exposed without having the thick shaft of something inside him that he craves. Gilbert could definitely fuck him full with some kind of plant-based phallic instrument, but he simply chooses not to. He likes having Hob wide open and gaping. Perhaps a little pollen will slide into his cunt, or maybe Fiddler's Green will use a vine to plant a proper seed inside Hob’s desperate womb. If he's feeling generous that seed will germinate grow with tendrils that wriggle inside and make Hob wet with tears and slick.

Dream loves to lie down in the grass beside Hob and watch him being absolutely ravished by the surrounding foliage. Hob is so whiney and needy when he's being so thoroughly fucked. A proper pet slut for the dreaming. If he's lucky, Dream might just take pity and slide his finger down to play with one of Hob’s holes. Usually he's mean, and wiggles his finger into the poor overstretched peehole. But if he's been very, very good, Hob might to cum (yet again) with Dream's fingers in his pussy.

There are so many holes to choose from, and plenty to share. Perhaps the Corinthian and Gault might pop by to join in and see how Gilbert has reduced Hob to a drooling mess. And pick up some tips for the next time they get to play with him <3

[constantlymisspelled]

The Mandalorian Peace Lilly, which only grows flower buds and new growth when a drought breaks. If the good waters last too long, the lilies go to dormant, having gathered enough water to keep leaves growing, but don’t flower past the first year. If the waters disappear, they go to seed, and spread themselves in the cracks and crevices of the old deserts of Mandalore. Peace Lillie’s have not been seen on Manda’yaim since the Dral Haran, and cannot be propagated by any sentient. They only survive in the woods of Zanbar, Concord Dawn’s southern desert regions, and the Ordo Minor Plateaus.

They require a minimum of a full week of rain fall to germinate, and require full sun on their leaves, and full shade on their stalk, resulting in these lilies growing in puddles, cliff faces, water falls, fallen trees, and the cracks in buildings. They are considered the symbol of Mandalorian Harmony, or the closest many Traditionalists will come to peace. None of the plant is edible, although it is not poisonous. The known uses of this plant are for special events as decoration, offerings to Mandalorian Deities such as Death, Hard Won Victory, and Catastrophe.

Known colouration of this plant’s flowers are white, yellow white and orange, and white, red and purple. The stems are often a vivid green, made of soft celled forming plant matter with high water content and a waxy coating, and the leaves a dark, striped green that often spiral out of water by up to a meter, with a waxy top, and a lightly furred underside to preserve moisture from the once hot but still liveable sun of Manda’yaim. The stamen is usually a rich, vibrant yellow gold, and it is no longer known what animal once pollenated the species.

It shares similar features with the common herbs used on Mandallia for sanitation and wound care, although knowledge of its preparation was lost with the Temples of Mandalore. Although considered a weed on Concordia, most citizens of other planets view it as sacred, and a sign that Mandalore is still full of soul.

Due to its inability to grow on Manda’yaim, that planet of its origination, the planet is often considered cursed, even during times of relative peace.

[All Fanon. I wanted symbolism for my growing pantheon, and I took inspiration from Satine’s many jewels and decorations and decided that some of them once meant something specific to the Faithful of Mandalore. I’m pushing Mandalorian Culture and Religion as less western, and more towards something of a mix between some forms of Hinduism in practice, and what we know of Viking and ancient Nomad Warrior Culture. I want it to feel like Mandalore (as a place and a people) is old, but still ever changing - like the white sands that now cover their home, there is so much more left to become. If the galaxy only lets them be.

Let me know what you think! And if you have any ideas or head canons as to what biomes and vegetation Ancient Mandalore supported.]

[tomorrowsgardennc]

garden update // june 25th 2024

parsley has been keeping an eye out for rain for me. still no sign of any anytime soon. rainbarrels have run dry, and i'm scared to open my water bill.

my pumpkin plants are going absolutely bonkers. one of my favorite parts of having a raised bed is letting the plants flow out. be free, plants, be freeeeee!! i actually want the pumpkins to take over, i can't wait. i have been pinching back the male flowers, though, so the plant can focus its energy elsewhere. but there were a few flowers i couldn't tell if male or female, so i let them bloom. turns out they were male, but the bees are drunk with pollen. maybe i shouldn't be pinching them back as often...

my carrots are going to seed, which wasn't my intention actually 😅 i grow carrots purely for the carrot tops - absolutely delicious when treated like an herb. i don't even thin my carrots out when they germinate. i'm starting to pull some anyway, with parsley's help of course.

last year i started ground cherry seeds in june, and they grew exactly like tomatillos and i got a bountiful harvest in august. this year i started the seeds (saved from last year) at the same time as the tomatoes, and they're dwarf sized!! not even 2 feet tall. they're starting to produce, though. i mean, if they stay dwarf thalen by all means! but at the same time... i hope they do get taller and i get another bountiful harvest in late summer. my favorite tomato is starting to produce, too - the green doctor cherry tomatoes. i'm going to be entering them into a contest in 2 weeks, so i hope i get a lot more by then!!

i took some cuttings from a pomegranate tree about... uhh... 2 months ago now?? and they're starting to grow new leaves!! no roots, though... i might need to transfer them into soil rather than water for root development. probably be on this week's to do.

my dwarf cucumbers and dwarf cantelope are chugging along. they need lots of water, but hopefully that water bill will be worth it in the end.

[botaniqueer]

Baby euphorias! I love how they look like weird tiny aliens when young. (Cactuses on the other hand look ugly for the longest time after their Cotyledon stage)

I can’t remember if this is all of them or if there were a few more seeds but def most of them have germinated.

The proud orb dad who has birthed them

Now for the long wait to see what kinds of babies come from this. Idk if they were pollinated already by like-species but I made a point of going around the sale floor and collecting pollen from every flowering euphorbia species I could find. :P The oldest one looks like what I’ve seen of E. obesa seedlings but we’ll have to see once they’re all older.

[dougdimmadodo]

Common Sunflower (Helianthus annuus)

Family: Aster Family (Asteraceae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern

Originating from the Americas, the Common Sunflower can now be found on every continent except Antarctica, both in cultivation (where it is grown for its edible seeds, useful oils and iconic flowers) and in the wild as an invasive species. Typically growing in open habitats with damp, nutrient-rich soil, members of this species are often said to turn to face the sun, although this is not strictly true; young Common Sunflowers do position their developing flowers to face towards the sun throughout the day, but upon reaching maturity their flowers remain fixed in place, almost always facing east - as the sun rises in the east, this means that the dark surface of the mature flower heads are heated up each morning, making them more attractive to ectothermic ("cold-blooded") pollinating insects. What is typically thought of as the flower of a sunflower is actually a large flower-supporting structure called a flower head, and upon closer inspection the "face" of the flower head is covered in a large number of tiny true flowers called florets - while cultivated varieties and the invasive populations descended from them only ever develop a single flowerhead, wild individuals often branch out and develop several, each supporting up to 2,000 florets. Each flower head supports both pollen-producing "male" florets and pollen-receiving "female" florets, and upon being pollinated female flowers develop into small, black, dry fruits commonly referred to as "sunflower seeds", although in reality the pale rounded structures within the "seeds", known as sunflower hearts, are the true seeds, with what is typically thought of as a sunflower seed serving to attract small animals to swallow them and allow the seeds within to be dispersed in the animals' dung. Although they reach considerable sizes (with wild individuals growing to be up to 3 meters/ 10 feet in height, with some cultivated varieties reaching even greater heights,) Common Sunflowers are short-lived, germinating, reproducing and dying in only around 10-18 weeks.

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Image Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/57983-Helianthus-annuus

[pcttrailsidereader]

(Photo credit: Peter Otis)

The Joshua Tree

On the approach to the Big Bear community, NOBO hikers begin to see sporadic Joshua Trees . . . the numbers of which increase in the stretch of the PCT south of Walker Pass. One of the most unusual plants to be seen on the PCT!

By the mid-19th century, Mormon immigrants had made their way across the Colorado River. Legend has it that these pioneers named the tree after the biblical figure, Joshua, seeing the limbs of the tree as outstretched in supplication, guiding the travelers westward. However, this tale is not substantiated in the historical record. Some evidence suggests that Joshua trees inspired thoughts of the biblical Joshua in his role as a war leader. Perhaps the tree's sharp, blade-like leaves brought to mind the arrayed forces of Joshua's army.

Concurrent with Mormon settlers, ranchers and miners arrived in the high desert with high hopes of raising cattle and digging for gold. These homesteaders used the Joshua tree’s limbs and trunks for fencing and corrals. Miners found a source of fuel for the steam engines used in processing ore.

Today we enjoy this yucca for its grotesque appearance, a surprising sight in the landscape of biological interest. The Joshua tree’s life cycle begins with the rare germination of a seed, its survival dependent upon well-timed rains. Look for sprouts growing up from within the protective branches of a shrub. Young sprouts may grow quickly in the first five years, then slow down considerably thereafter. The tallest Joshua trees in the park loom a whopping forty-plus feet high, a grand presence in the desert. Judging the age of a Joshua tree is challenging: these “trees” do not have growth rings like you would find in an oak or pine. You can make a rough estimate based on height, as Joshua trees grow at rates of one-half inch to three inches per year. Some researchers think an average lifespan for a Joshua tree is about 150 years, but some of our largest trees may be much older than that.

Spring rains may bring clusters of white-green flowers on long stalks at branch tips. Like all desert blooms, Joshua trees depend on just the perfect conditions: well-timed rains, and for the Joshua tree, a crisp winter freeze. Researchers believe that freezing temperatures may damage the growing end of a branch and stimulate flowering, followed by branching. You may notice some Joshua trees grow like straight stalks; these trees have never bloomed—which is why they are branchless! In addition to ideal weather, the pollination of flowers requires a visit from the yucca moth. The moth collects pollen while laying her eggs inside the flower ovary. As seeds develop and mature, the eggs hatch into larvae, which feed on the seeds. The tree relies on the moth for pollination and the moth relies on the tree for a few seeds for her young—a happy symbiosis.

See Joshua Tree story in The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California.