Q 01/05

Joshua Tree National Park lies a few hours' drive east of which big city?

A) Los Angeles

B) San Diego

C) Las Vegas

D) Phoenix

Answer · why

A) Los Angeles

Los Angeles. When desert gardens came into fashion there, landscapers dug up so many cacti that the plunder set off the campaign to protect the area.

Q 02/05

Joshua Tree National Park straddles which two deserts?

A) Sonoran and Great Basin

B) Chihuahuan and Mojave

C) Mojave and Colorado

D) Painted and Sonoran

Answer · why

C) Mojave and Colorado

Mojave and Colorado. Elevation draws the line: Joshua trees grow in the Mojave uplands, while the low, hot Colorado Desert is ocotillo country.

Q 03/05

The Joshua tree is actually what kind of plant?

A) A cactus

B) A yucca

C) A palm

D) A pine

Answer · why

B) A yucca

A yucca. The Joshua tree sits in the agave family, not among the true trees, and it can send up new stems from its roots after a fire or flood.

Q 04/05

Which group is commonly credited with naming the Joshua tree after a biblical figure?

A) Spanish missionaries

B) Gold prospectors

C) Mormon settlers

D) Cahuilla elders

Answer · why

C) Mormon settlers

Mormon settlers are said to have seen the biblical Joshua in its upraised branches, but no record from the time confirms the tale.

Q 05/05

Which kind of insect is the Joshua tree's sole pollinator, laying its eggs inside the flowers?

A) A bee

B) A beetle

C) A moth

D) A wasp

Answer · why

C) A moth

A moth. The female spreads pollen as she lays her eggs inside the flowers, and her larvae eat only some of the seeds, leaving the rest to grow.