Travelling across the Mojave desert in the mid-1800s in search of the Promised Land, a group of Mormons were mesmerised by strange trees that they had never seen before, miraculously blooming in the arid, parched wastelands. Convinced that these monocotyledons in the shape of outstretched hands were sent by God to guide them and assist them on their biblical-style trek across the desert, they called this unusual yucca palm the Joshua tree.