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Petrified Wood
The pieces of dead wood on the ground are called petrified yucca. Some of this material is quite dense and very heavy. Edmund Jaeger, noted botanist, writes about this material, "The so-called petrified wood, much prized as fuel by desert settlers, is made by the plant as it lays down silica in the cell walls in its attempt to wall off the injuries done by the borers, by fire, or by wind. The rest of the wood of the dead Joshua tree is very lightweight and fibrous.
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