Creature Feature: Chaparral Yucca

Chaparral Yuccas stand like sentinels over the chaparral in spring. Each one blooms only once, a bright, yet ephemeral flame.

What is the Chaparral Yucca?

If you venture into San Diego’s parks and wildlands this time of year, you’re likely to see what look like bright, white flames rising above the green scrub.

Fittingly, this month’s featured plant is sometimes called Our Lord’s Candle. Others call it Spanish Bayonet, because of its sharp, shin-dagger leaves. Scientists say Hesperoyucca whipplei, and the Kumeyaay know it as sha’aa. Its most common name, though, is Chaparral Yucca.

Blooming Season and Appearance

When in bloom, Chaparral Yuccas are a sight to behold. Their flower stalks can reach over ten feet tall, bearing hundreds of large, white-and-purple flowers. The blue-grey rosette at the base is beautiful year-round, extremely drought-tolerant, and often survives wildfires.

What Lives Inside Chaparral Yucca Flowers?

If your shins are feeling lucky, and you get close enough to peer inside a yucca’s flowers, you might spot tiny, white Chaparral Yucca Moths. Yes — these plants have their own special moth!

The Yucca–Moth Relationship

Yucca Moths (Tegeticula maculata) have a codependent, mutually beneficial relationship with yuccas. They carefully pollinate the flowers while laying eggs inside the plant’s seed pods. The larvae eat through some of the seeds, leaving enough behind for the plant to reproduce.

It’s a fragile partnership: if the yuccas disappear, so do the moths. Recent research using iNaturalist data suggests that short, extreme weather events may disrupt this perfect pair.

Ethnobotanical Importance of Chaparral Yuccas

The ethnobotanical value of this plant cannot be overstated. For thousands of years, indigenous tribes across the Southwest — including the Kumeyaay peoples — have relied on Chaparral Yuccas.

• The leaves contain strong fibers used for weaving, clothing, shoes, cradles, cordage, and shelter.

• The hearts of the plant were peeled, roasted, and eaten.

• The flowers were typically boiled and eaten as well.

Where to See Chaparral Yuccas in San Diego

Come see these spectacular yuccas on my next Wildflower Walk — or find them from Torrey Pines to the Laguna Mountains and anywhere in between.