To protect the southwest’s iconic Joshua trees, scientists are tinkering with their genetics and searching for climate havens in—and sometimes outside of—their existing habitat.

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A Joshua tree against a sunset in the high Mojave Desert. (Carlo Allegri / Getty Images) Joshua trees face an uncertain future.

Joshua trees typically bloom in February and April, according to Jeremy Yoder, an associate professor of biology at ...

The gangly, spiky plants that grow in the vital and sensitive Mojave Desert can live more than 150 years. But devastating wildfires have left behind millions of charred trees — actually succulents — ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. A damaged Joshua tree is lit by the setting sun, surrounded by terrain scorched by the 72-acre Black Rock wildfire in Joshua Tree ...

Picture Joshua Tree National Park, but without the Joshua trees. Modeling shows that could be reality for the vast majority of the park by the end of this century if the triple threats of climate ...