Survivors of the Desert

This painting has in it a Joshua Tree and a beaver tail cactus, the ... more

by Janis Tafoya

Original - Not For Sale

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

11.000 x 14.000 x 1.750 inches

Title

Survivors of the Desert

Artist

Janis Tafoya

Medium

Painting - Oil

Description

This painting has in it a Joshua Tree and a beaver tail cactus, the
reason I named this painting "Survivors", is because they are able to
exist in the deserts where most plants could not make it..

The Joshua Tree, the largest of the yuccas, grows only in the Mojave Desert. 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.

Originally thought to be members of the Agave (Century Plant) Family, the Joshua Tree and other yuccas have been reclassified as members of the Lily (Liliaceae) Family. Two variations of the Joshua Tree are classified as J. brevifolia var. herbertii and J. var. jaegeriana.

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. Although an old Joshua Trees can sprout new plants from its roots, only the seeds produced in pollinated flowers can scatter far enough to establish a new stand.

Mormon pioneers are said to have named this species "Joshua" Tree because it mimicked the Old Testament prophet Joshua waving them, with upraised arms, on toward the promised land. This unique species grows abundantly at Joshua Tree

Prickly pear is part of the diet of javelinas, a wild pig-like animal which lives in the desert. They eat the young pads and the fruit. Cattle, horses, sheep and pigs are fed thornless cactus pads or scavenge them in the wild. If more than 50 percent of the diet is prickly pear pads, animals may develop diarrhea.

Uploaded

January 14th, 2013