One of Karen Russell’s favorite myths is the tale of Apollo and Daphne. Read about how it inspired her short story “The Bad Graft” and how she feels about the Joshua tree, here.

Without boring everybody further, I was thrilled to learn about the ancient evolutionary love story between the Joshua tree and the yucca moth, its exclusive pollinator. Charles Darwin pointed to these two species as being one of the most incredible examples of coëvolution and mutual symbiosis in nature—they have evolved to where their futures are inextricably linked. So, you know, another lens through which to consider how, for our species, the kind of love that braids two people’s fates together can both sustain them and makes them vulnerable.