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Hesperoyucca whipplei (Torr.) Baker
chaparral yucca

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Subclass  Liliidae

Order  Liliales

Family  Agavaceae -- Century-plant family

Genus  Hesperoyucca (Engelm.) Baker P

Species  Hesperoyucca whipplei (Torr.) Baker -- chaparral yucca P

 

SYNONYM INFORMATION

 

Summary
Duration	Perennial
Growth Habit	Forb/herb, Shrub, Subshrub
U.S. Nativity	Native to U.S.
Federal T/E Status
National Wetland Indicator
Morphology/Physiology
Active Growth Period	Spring and Summer
After Harvest Regrowth Rate
Bloat	None
C:N Ratio	High
Coppice Potential	No
Fall Conspicuous	Yes
Fire Resistant	No
Flower Color	White
Flower Conspicuous	Yes
Foliage Color	Gray-Green
Foliage Porosity Summer	Porous
Foliage Porosity Winter	Porous
Foliage Texture	Coarse
Fruit/Seed Color	Brown
Fruit/Seed Conspicuous	Yes
Growth Form	Colonizing
Growth Rate	Slow
Height at 20 Years, Maximum (feet)	3
Height, Mature (feet)	4.0
Known Allelopath	No
Leaf Retention	Yes
Lifespan	Long
Low Growing Grass	No
Nitrogen Fixation	None
Resprout Ability	Yes
Shape and Orientation	Semi-Erect
Toxicity	None
Growth Requirements
Adapted to Coarse Textured Soils	Yes
Adapted to Fine Textured Soils	No
Adapted to Medium Textured Soils	Yes
Anaerobic Tolerance	None
CaCO3 Tolerance	Medium
Cold Stratification Required	No
Drought Tolerance	High
Fertility Requirement	Low
Fire Tolerance	Medium
Frost Free Days, Minimum	200
Hedge Tolerance	None
Moisture Use	Low
pH, Minimum	6.4
pH, Maximum	8.5
Planting Density per Acre, Minimum	700
Planting Density per Acre, Maximum	2700
Precipitation, Minimum	8
Precipitation, Maximum	14
Root Depth, Minimum (inches)	14
Salinity Tolerance	Low
Shade Tolerance	Intolerant
Temperature, Minimum (°F)	7
Reproduction
Bloom Period	Late Spring
Commercial Availability	No Known Source
Fruit/Seed Abundance	Medium
Fruit/Seed Period Begin	Summer
Fruit/Seed Period End	Summer
Fruit/Seed Persistence	No
Propagated by Bare Root	Yes
Propagated by Bulb	No
Propagated by Container	Yes
Propagated by Corm	No
Propagated by Cuttings	No
Propagated by Seed	Yes
Propagated by Sod	No
Propagated by Sprigs	Yes
Propagated by Tubers	No
Seed per Pound	27000
Seed Spread Rate	Moderate
Seedling Vigor	Medium
Small Grain	No
Vegetative Spread Rate	Slow
Suitability/Use
Berry/Nut/Seed Product	No
Christmas Tree Product	No
Fodder Product	No
Fuelwood Product
Lumber Product	No
Naval Store Product	No
Nursery Stock Product	Yes
Palatable Browse Animal
Palatable Graze Animal
Palatable Human	Yes
Post Product	No
Protein Potential
Pulpwood Product	No
Veneer Product	No

 

Alternate Names

Hesperoyucca whipplei (Torr.) Baker; our lord’s candle, Whipple’s yucca

 

Uses

Ethnobotanic: The apical meristem, young flower stalks, flowers, and tender immature pods were eaten by many tribes in southern California including the Tubatulabal, Cahuilla, Luiseno, Diegueno, Kawaiisu, and Western Shoshone and are still gathered today. 

 

According to the Kawaiisu, traditionally in the early spring, the apical meristem or "heart" was removed with the aid of an oak or a juniper shaft.  It was then roasted in a pit for a lengthy period.  While green and tender the flower stalk that grows out of the apical meristem was cut or broken off by hand.  These stalks were cut into sections and roasted in fire or in ashes and coals.  It is reputed to have a sweet taste.  The flowers are edible and can be boiled and eaten. The Diegueno tribe harvested the flowers before they

opened and boiled them twice to remove the bitterness before eating.

 

Chaparral yucca was also an important fiber plant.  The Diegueno and Cahuilla used the fibers for sandals while the Chumash and the Gabrielino used it for fishing line.  Whole or split yucca leaves were also utilized for rough tying of bundles of firewood, house frames, and for basketry.  To retrieve and prepare the fibers, the leaves were immersed in water until the epidermal sheath and the connecting round tissue rotted away.  The leaves may also have been pounded with a wooden mallet to facilitate the process.  The fibers are then buried in mud to whiten them, washed and combed.

 

Wildlife: The seeds and fruits are eaten by the antelope ground squirrel and hummingbirds consume the nectar.

 

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status and wetland indicator values.

 

Description

General: Agave Family (Agavaceae).  This shrub is simple and acaulescent with no evident trunk.  The leaves are slender, stiff and gray-green.  They are 3-8 dm long and radiate from a central base and have needle-like tips.  The plant has a single flower stalk, which is covered with fragrant, creamy white flowers.  Night-flying moths pollinate the flowers.  The fruit is a capsule containing numerous black seeds.  After fruiting the plant dies.  Some plants reproduce vegetatively through offsets.

 

Distribution

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.  This plant is found in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, creosote bush scrub and the desert at elevations below 2500 m.  It grows in southern California, northwestern Arizona, and Baja, California.

 

Establishment

Seeds: Plant the seeds in the fall in deep, one-gallon pots in well-drained soil.  Lay the seeds on top of the soil and sprinkle soil over the seeds until they are covered.  Then cover the soil with one quarter-inch of gravel.  Keep the pots damp through the first year.  The plants need sharp drainage and space.  Plant the young seedling the following fall outside.  This yucca needs full sun, excellent drainage, and is intolerant of frequent summer water.  It can endure cold temperatures to about 10 degrees F.

 

Cuttings: Cut off yucca leaves at the point of origin in the spring.  Reduce the length of the leaves to six inches, exposing bare stem tissue.  Stick the cuttings in a pot with well-drained soil and water the soil, keeping it slightly moist.  Place the pot in partial shade.  Plant the seedling outdoors in full sun, in well-drained soil in the fall.  Continue to water the plant for three years until it gets established.

 

Management

Prune back dead or diseased leaves periodically in the autumn.

 

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

This species is available from native plant nurseries within its range.  Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil Conservation Service) office for more information.  Look in the phone book under ”United States Government.”  The Natural Resources Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading “Department of Agriculture.”

 

References

Bean L.J. & K.S. Saubel. 1972.  Temalpakh: Cahuilla Indian knowledge and usage of plants.  Malki Museum Press, Morongo Indian Reservation, Banning, California.

 

Hedges, K. & C. Beresford. 1986.  Santa Ysabel ethnobotany.  San Diego Museum of Man Ethnic Technology Notes No. 20.  San Diego Museum of Man, San Diego, California.

 

Kroeber, A.L. 1909.  Notes on Shoshonean dialects of Southern California.  University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 8(5):235-269.

 

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim, & A.L. Nelson. 1951.  American wildlife and plants: A guide to wildlife food habits.  Dover Publications, New York, New York.

 

Mathewson, M.S. 1985.  Threads of life: Cordage and other fibers of the California tribes.  Unpublished Senior Thesis.  Department of Anthropology.  University of California, Santa Cruz.

 

McKinney, K.K. & J.C. Hickman 1993.  Yucca.  Page 1210  IN:  The Jepson manual: Higher plants of California.  J.C. Hickman (ed.).  University of California Press, Berkeley.

 

Mielke, J. 1993.  Native plants for southwestern landscapes.  University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.

 

Voegelin, E.W. 1938.  Tubatulabal ethnography.  Anthropological Records 2(1):1-90.

 

Zigmond, M.L. 1981.  Kawaiisu ethnobotany.  University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City, Utah.

 

Prepared By & Species Coordinators

M. Kat Anderson

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Science Department, University of California, Davis, California

 

Warren Roberts

UC Davis Arboretum, University of California, Davis, California

 

Edited: 07dec00 jsp; 04jun03 ahv; 07jun06 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture