Chaparral Yucca Seeds|Hesperoyucca whipplei|California Native Plants|Southwestern|Organic|Gardening|Native Plants|Wildflowers|Native Seeds

Chaparral Yucca (Hesperoyucca whipplei) is a flowering plant closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is native to Southern California and Baja California, Mexico, where it occurs mainly in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodland plant communities at altitudes of 950 to 8200 feet. It often grows in sandy washes in the desert or inland valleys.

It produces a stemless cluster of long, rigid leaves which end in a sharp point. The leaf edges are finely saw-toothed. The plant typically takes 5 to 10 years to reach maturity, at which point it amazingly shoots up a flower spike to about 10 to 15 feet in about 2 weeks. Those spikes bear a spectacular display of hundreds of bell-shaped white to purplish flowers.

The fruit is a dry winged capsule, which splits open at maturity to release the seeds. It is pollinated by the California Yucca moth (Tegeticula maculata); this relationship has become a classic example of symbiosis. Working at night, the female California Yucca moth collects up to a dozen sacks of pollen grains called pollinia and forms them into a massive ball. She then flies to another plant and lands on the ovary of a flower. Standing with her head near the stigma, she inserts her ovipositor into the ovary wall and lays a single egg. She then rubs her pollen mass against the central stigmatic depression, ensuring pollination. The pollinated ovary will now produce many seeds, ensuring an ample food supply for the larva.

Although many associations of Yucca and Yucca moth exist, the California Yucca moth and the Chaparral Yucca form an exclusive relationship. After the flowers have been pollinated, the Chaparral Yucca dies, though the stalk will typically stay upright for several more years.

Chaparral Yucca is used in xeriscaping in Southern California but reportedly is difficult to grow outside its native range. It is extremely drought adapted and thrives in clay soils.

Local Indigenous peoples used this plant extensively. Fiber from the leaves was used for sandals, cloth, and rope. Young flowers are edible but may be bitter. The Kumeyaay of San Diego County boil the flowers in water and then pour off the water three times before eating them. The stalk of the plant can be eaten. Fruits can be eaten raw, roasted, or pounded into meal. Seeds were roasted and eaten whole or ground into flour. Easily propagated by seed. For propagating by seed: No treatment. Packet will contain 20+ seeds.