Hesperoyucca whipplei

Chaparral yucca

Family: Agavaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Chaparral yucca is a native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada (especially eastern slope), southern Coast Ranges, southwestern California, and the eastern Sierra Nevada, particularly in chaparral, coastal, and desert scrub habitats at elevations below 2,500 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces white to cream-colored flowers with purple-tinged tips in dense clusters on tall inflorescences reaching up to 40 decimeters high. Growing with a dramatic rosette of stiff, grayish-green leaves 40 to 100 centimeters long and 0.7 to 2 centimeters wide, it forms an impressive architectural plant with a substantial leaf base. Its leaves emerge from a wide, white to green expanded base measuring 4 to 7 centimeters, creating a striking visual structure in its native habitats. The fruit is an impressive 3 to 5 centimeters long, adding to the plant's distinctive and dramatic appearance.

Habitat: Chaparral, coastal, desert scrub

Bloom period: Apr-May

Elevation: < 2500 m

Bioregions: s SN (esp e slope), SCoR, SW, SNE (Deep Springs Valley), sw edge DMoj

California counties: Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Fresno, Kern, San Benito, Tulare

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.