California officials are weighing whether to list the iconic western Joshua tree as a threatened species, a designation that would make it harder to remove the trees for housing, solar or other development projects.
The desert plant is known for its unique appearance, with spiky leaves on the end of its branches, is found in the national park that bears its name about 130 miles (209 kilometers) east of Los Angeles and through a stretch of desert up to Death Valley National Park. There are two types of trees, the eastern and western, but only the western is up for consideration.
