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| ## chaparral yucca {#chaparral-yucca .Title-Header}                   |
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| *Yucca whipplei* Torr.                                                |
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| Plant Symbol = YUWH                                                   |
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# *Contributed By: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center & UC Davis Arboretum*

###### 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
![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.1972222222222224in" height="5.28125in"}

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
Californ*ia. 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\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
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