
This is the first time I have ever seen Joshua Trees in bloom!

These trees were recently designated an endangered species by The California Fish & Game Commission.

They are vulnerable because they exist in a limited area in The Southwestern US and Baja California. Their range is mostly contained by the boundaries of the Mojave Desert. This habitat is under pressure from development and climate change.

Joshua Trees are pollinated by Yucca Moths. Desert habitat is sensitive and species are interdependent.

Interestingly, in the distant past, Joshua’s were pollinated by Giant Sloths!

Humans have lived in The Mojave Desert for about 12,000 years.

Pictographs, cryptic messages from the past, can be found throughout this region.
Cheers to you from the fascinating Mojave~
The close ups are fascinating. Thanks for sharing!
You are very welcome and I am happy you enjoyed დ
Lovely photos of the blooming Joshua tree! I like the pictographs taken in the Mojave desert.
Pictographs are fascinating aren’t they. Thank you Peter & take good care დ
Very interesting bloom! Is the flower fully developed or just in its infancy? I hope these trees never become extinct.
Good question. These are young blooms. They will open up as they mature, something I have never seen. So much desert life has already been destroyed. I share your hopes about the amazing Joshuas დ
Very interesting, esp the drawings. Thanks for your beautiful photos snd fascinating history of your region. Have a great day!
So pleased you enjoyed and you are most welcome დ
Well, aren’t we fortunate that you have photographed these flowers and shared them with your readers. What a joy it is to see them.
I am so happy you enjoyed them Anne & cheers to you დ
Wow! Thank you for sharing your photos of the blooming Joshuas. And the pictographs are so interesting. I wonder what the human figure is wearing? Or is it supposed to be a shield? Cheers.
You are most welcome Lynette. Pictographs and petroglyphs are so fascinating. They are an international language, open for us to interpret დ
Used to visit that area a lot in the 60s. We camped near the national monument every year during high school. I’ve never seen them bloom. Great photos. Thanks.
You and I probably crossed paths, without knowing, at some point in our lives დ
Amazing photos!
Thank you very much & hug your new foster kitty for me დ
Always happy to hug the fosters!
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Superb …. I never saw one like this too. Its natures wonder. Thanks for sharing CK
Nature never ceases to surprise, delight and amaze დ
I totally agree with your saying. Amazing.
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How amazing to see the Joshua trees bloom, Cindy! A banner year for wildflowers!
Yes it is! The Holler is blooming spectacularly. The desert is too დ
Reblogged this on GrannyMoon's Morning Feast.
The desert and I are grateful for your kind support my friend. Thank you დ
Blooming beautiful. Petroglyphs are so interesting.
There are so many petroglyphs in this part of the desert. We have lots of metates at The Holler. I should do a post on them. Fascinating დ
We have a lot of petroglyphs also that are now the Petroglyph National Monument. Human need to tag surfaces seems to be part of our DNA.
Yes, there really are lots of pictographs, petroglyphs and metates in the southwest. Finding them is always a thrill დ
Wow, I didn’t even know they bloomed at all! Desert blooms are often quite fragrant, was this one? Thank you for sharing pictures of such a beautiful find.
Fascinating question. I don’t know about any fragrance. Joshua trees are tall and the blooms are on the end of the branches so I couldn’t reach them დ
Facinating information and beautiful photos!
Merci beaucoup mon Ami Liz დ
Blew my mind…so beautiful Cindy – Thanks!
You are most welcome June. Your kind comment makes me smile დ
Oh, wow, Cindy, this is fascinating! We might think of ‘desert’ as a dead place of heat and dryness, but it’s so much more than that, huh? Thanks for bringing it close to those of us who aren’t able right now to see it for themselves!
So happy you enjoyed Debbie. Deserts are remarkable and always full of surprises. They appear so hostile and desolate, but in fact they host a stunning variety of flora and fauna დ
Super. Habe ich noch nie gesehen.
Ich bin so glücklich, dass Sie meinen Freund genossen haben und gut aufpassen დ
I had no idea these bloomed! And the fact that sloths helped them at one time – just changed my opinion about sloths!
Fascinating – gorgeous. Thanks so much, my friend.
Hugs to you and your beautiful family Sheila დ
Wonderful
Grazie mille დ
Wondrous.
So happy you think so David & thank you დ
I heard all of California is under a bad drought Cindy. Even more so than normal.
Yes. It is beyond terrible and has been going on for years now. Last night we went to sleep with smoke in the skies. There is another fire, in a seemingly endless series of them.
we get too much and you get too little,….no Goldi Loks zone anymore!
Exactly. I think of this whenever I visit Tofino დ
Beautiful photos! I’ve never seen Joshua Trees in bloom either. Thanks for the history…
You are most welcome & cheers to you დ
So striking!
Very pleased you think so & cheers დ
I was there in 2008, about this time of year, and saw the wonderful blooms. I have since learned that the seeds of these trees were stratified inside the digestive system of the sloths, then spread through the feces. Very few animals today can do that. Also, there is one main pollinator – a little white moth. Recently, there were terrible fires that wiped out a large existing stand of Joshua trees, and because of climate change, it’s difficult for them to expand their territory quickly enough. I’m always so sad (well, “sad” doesn’t quite say it, really) to see all the beautiful creatures and plants on our wonderful Earth disappearing because humans are selfish and short-sighted.
The way we treat this earth is tragic. So many of the desert creatures I played with as a child, horny toads, kangaroo rats, desert toads, tarantulas, the list goes on and on, are now never seen and seriously endangered. People who don’t value and protect the natural world are killing all of us, and they don’t care.
She’s a beauty! Thank you for sharing. 🌵
You are most welcome Michele & I am pleased you enjoyed them დ
Wow, those are stunning Cindy. I’ve never seen them bloom in all of the times I’ve been there. 👏
Neither had I. It proves we can always see something new, even in familiar places დ
Yes, so true and to always keep learning and opening our eyes 💖💖🙏
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Wow, so beautiful! Were there sloths in California at one time then? Very interesting. Maggie
Giant sloths! Amazing isn’t it. I wonder if they moved slowly დ
Fine, detailed shots, Cindy. JTs are so unique– once seen, they are not forgotten.
They are very different aren’t they. I love vast plains of them as far as the eye can see დ
Indeed very fascinating!
Nature always fascinates and uplifts us დ
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These trees are amazing! I love deserts and the things that live there.
I <3 my friends who <3 deserts! They are fascinating ecosystems დ
WOW! These trees are so gorgeous. I hope we do not lose them. 🙁
Thank you my friend. I appreciate and share your hopes. Take good care დ
Thank you for this brief but important look at Joshua trees, Cindy! 💚 The dessert is like an alien landscape full of marvelous secrets and its own rugged yet delicate beauty.
I love your descriptor Teresa. It is poetic and entirely true დ
Reblogged this on Teresa Robeson 何顥思 and commented:
If you’re not one of the thousands of Cindy’s followers yet, I highly recommend you follow her blog. It is stunning and such a respite for weary eyes and souls from the daily grind.
Your thoughtful kindness touches my heart Teresa. Thank you dear friend and stay safe and well დ
Wonderful ! I have been in the Joshua Tree National Park, but I didn´t see the blossoms. Thank you for sharing. LG Marie
Happy you enjoyed Marie and you are most welcome. I hadn’t seen the blossoms before either დ
A brilliant post about a plant I didn’t know anything about. You had me scurrying over the internet to find more information!!! Thank you, Cindy, for another stellar post.
Well, your posts are just the same for me. I always learn something new when I visit you! დ
How amazing! Fabulous photos btw
Much appreciated Sheree & cheers to you my friend დ
My pleasure Cindy
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A beautiful plant, especially in bloom, and your camera skills do it justice.
So thoughtful of you & so appreciated! Cheers to you დ
Wonderful pictures, Cindy, of fasciantion plants.
Thanks much Pit. They are fascinating plants დ
Those blooming Josua trees are fascinating!
Stay safe, dear Cindy!
They are fascinating trees. I love seeing them carpet the desert up to the horizon. It looks like an alien landscape. I hope you are safe and well my friend დ
Are they spring bloomers then? The flowers look huge! It’s amazing that at one point in history, giant sloths called the area home.
Yes they bloom in early spring. Late spring in the desert is too hot for the flowers. The roaming sloths is incredible isn’t it დ
How amazing!
Happy you enjoyed my friend & cheers! დ
That is one heckuva flower.
Thank you for sharing this Cindy! I’m flabbergasted. Wow!
So happy i saw this. დდდ
You are so welcome & I am happy you like these prickly beauties Resa. Take good care my friend დ
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Wow! The miracles of Nature!
Indeed. Nature always has surprises on offer for us დ
No wonder the giant sloth went extinct with all those prickles!
Smiling….. დ
OMGosh! I have NEVER seen a Joshua tree in bloom. How utterly exciting! Great photos. Thanks for sharing these delights from the Mojave! 💞
Thank you for your enthusiastic and thoughtful appreciation & cheers to you დ
Wow
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I had no idea that Joshua trees were considered endangered. I’ve seen them when visiting my brother near Ridgecrest, and they are kind of otherworldly. Very cool you’ve seen them blooming.
It is a sad development. So much desert life has become close to extinction. Joshua Trees are vulnerable because they live in a relatively small area that has become popular for retirement housing development, and because of California’s extended drought and subsequent fires. დ
Not to mention the damage that was done with swarms of nasty tourists during the government shutdown some years ago (when the National Park staff was furloughed!!!) It didn’t get a whole lot of coverage, but I remember reading about folks (vandals) going out and cutting down those many, many year old Joshua Trees… it was horrifying. 🥴
Yes. I read about it to. A celebrity, during this time when rangers were furloughed due to covid, had her photo taken, sitting in the branches of a Joshua tree. She most likely killed the tree.
I’ve shared on twitter, amazing photos and info Cindy! Thank you.
Aww, thank you more for your thoughtfulness & be well my friend დ
That place is incredible Cindy, it has everything amazing. Um, are you sure it doesn’t have a Big Foot or two? 😂 🤣 ❤️ 🙏🏽 🦋
It could, couldn’t it. Maybe The Yeti tired of hiding in the snow, and big footed it to the desert. But the truth is, the desert will never tell დ
Haha, true…everything is a surprise in there indeed 😂 🤣
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Such incredible images.now this of brings back memories of seeing these Joshua’s.
I am so glad you have seen them. They are the oddest trees I have ever seen, which of course, makes me love them completely დ
Stunning blooms, thank you for the history of the Joshua tree, Cindy 🙂
Thank you so much more for caring about them Carol & be well my friend დ
I do care as all of this in the scheme of things is the future for our children and grandchildren…I hope you have a fabulous week 🙂
Yes. Exactly. Us mothers and grandmothers care deeply about the lives we will leave our children and grandchildren.
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Nature is source of continuous amazement. Thank you for being as amazed as I Carol and take good care.
Cindy, excellent pictures as always!
Honored. Thank you very much & cheers! დ
Interesting tree Cindy, and some great captures of it.
So pleased you enjoyed & cheers to you! დ
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I am so grateful for friends like you Sharon. Thank you sincerely & take good care დ
Fascinating was in my mind all the way through this – then I read your word 🙂 – Derrick
I am so pleased you find the desert fascinating Derrick and thank you. The desert has been a source of continuous fascination to me since I was a child. There were many more creatures living in the desert back then which is sad დ
Great post, Cindy!! Thank you!
You are most welcome & cheers to you დ
Believe it or not Cindy, I’ve seen this blooming tree for the first time either. The difference is, you could see it in real life and I’ve seen it thanks to you on your lovely picture. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Thank you more Alexander for your very kind appreciation & take good care my friend დ
Oh my my …. you beautifully captured a wonderful plants.
Merci beaucoup mon Ami Frank! დ
Fabuloso!!
Muchos gracias! დ
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The bloom looks very complex in arrangement. Considering the whole tree and the shape of the bloom, I think they both looking very nice. I hope they continue to thrive well. Is there anyone trying to use the plant in any shape or form? I think that can be a potential threat.
They are complex, ancient trees, but are fragile. They are killed and cleared in certain areas for development. I hope that the current protections stop this and that the continued drought in the southwest doesn’t stress them past the point of return დ
I have never even seen a Joshua Tree and now I get to see one in bloom through your lens! 🙂 I didn’t know that they are designated an endangered species now. 🙁
❤️carmen
So pleased to make the introduction Carmen! Cheers to you & thank you for stopping by დ
The drawings really make you wonder, don’t they. I love the Joshua trees.
Yes. Seeing them is like getting a letter in the mail from 10,000 years ago! Stunning დ
This reminds me of the yucca plant in bloom. But the Joshua Tree is on a larger scale. Stellar images!
Yes. Very similar. They are in the same family დ
Cindy, cool. Our yucca plant does better some years. You most likely have more sunny days! Blessings. oxox
How nice you have one!
We don’t always have luck. Location, soil and sun are sometimes tricky at our end of the pond. Enjoy the beauty of nature! oxox
Visa versa 2UX2!
Love your comment, Cindy. Right back at you. oxox
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oxox
Lived in the Southwest for 15 years never saw one blooming. Thanks for the retake.
You are most welcome. It was a first for me too დ
Aliens. (Pictographs, not Joshua Trees.) 🙂
Understood 😉
I find Joshua Trees impressive, Cindy. Anything that can thrive in a desert impresses me. The photos add a touch of beauty. Peggy and I are in Flagstaff now and will be going on a petroglyph Hunt tomorrow.
I love Flagstaff! Enjoy and I look forward to seeing what you find. We are heading to the north rim and Colorado soon, Maybe we’ll cross paths დ
Yes fascinating, and also beautiful!
So happy you think so & thank you Jennie დ
You’re welcome, Cindy. 😍
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Hi Cindy, thank you for more beautiful photographs!
You are so very welcome Charles. Take good care & cheers to you დ
Reblogged this on charles french words reading and writing and commented:
Please enjoy these lovely photographs from Cindy Knoke!
Thank you Charles for being such a wonderful blogging friend and supporter of our amazing community. I am touched by your thoughtfulness დ
This is also (through your gorgeous photos), the first time I’ve seen Joshua Trees in bloom, thank you for my first! It’s thought-provoking to imagine that our humans who lived 12,000 years ago saw the same type of blooms you’ve shown us. One can’t help but wonder what their cryptic messages were trying to convey to us. What wisdom we’ve lost. But like Bertrand Russell has said, “The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper.”
Yes, it is amazing and wonderful to think of the people from the distant past. The Holler has a group of metates from thousands of years ago. Incredible. I love Bertrand Russell and his perfectly wonderful quote! Thank you for sharing this and for your thoughtful comments დ
I spent most of my life in SoCal, but had no idea there were ancient drawings in the Mojave area (and have never seen Joshua Trees in bloom either)!
You and me both! We can learn new things, even in the same place, everyday! დ
So beautiful
Yes. Thank you very much დ
Amazing blooms and even more striking rock art. Thanks for the great photos.
Thank you more for appreciating both of them & cheers დ
My pleasure. 😀
Wow, how neat! I didn’t know Joshua Trees bloomed.
It was special because I had never seen them blooming დ
What an incredible tree, Cindy. It’s flowers seem to pull all the life out of it.
Gorgeous photos.
Reproduction does tend to do that!! 😉
Such a fascinating tree, and loved the poctographs.. Great photos. 👍
Happy you enjoyed & take good care Sue დ
Spectacular blooms. <3
Merci beaucoup mon Ami დ
Wow!! Thank you for sharing the blooming Joshua tree with us! Amazing!
You are most welcome Katie. Happy you enjoyed & take good care დ
What a joy to behold here, Cindy. I love Joshua trees and how wonderfully crazy to see their blooms! I can’t imagine I will ever see this in person, so the photos were a real treat. Also interesting to hear they were once pollinated by the sloths, and to see the petroglyph drawings as well.
So happy you show you something new my friend. I had never seen them blooming before either and was quite fascinated. Cheers to you and thanks for stopping by დ
What an utterly fascinating and informative post, Cindy! I learned so much, and your photos are wonderful.
What a wonderful, thoughtful comment. Thank you & cheers to you დ
Didn’t know they bloomed. My parents had another species (very different) in front of their house with very similar flowers. One day a lady rang the door and asked if she could take the flowers. It seems it’s a delicacy in Mexico. Forgot the name of the plant.
Wonderful pictures. Thanks Cindy.
I love when people want to eat my flowers! Lots of plants are delicious დ
True. (Though I must confess I’m not big on vegetables… 🌽 🌶 🥒 🍆 🍅 🥗 )
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wonderful!
Grazie mille დ
I had no idea Joshua Trees bloomed. So beautiful!