Our Glorious Yuccas

This time of year, our hillsides are accented with the spectacular flowering of tall yucca plants. They stand out from our native chaparral, literally, as they rapidly shoot up above the low, dark-green canopy to a height of six to 10 feet and explode with thick creamy-white flowers. Just glance at our hillsides to spot them, vertical splashes of white. They are particularly thick right now in the riverbed of Big Tujunga Canyon where the 210 Freeway crosses, perhaps spurred to extra growth by last year’s fire in the riverbed. But they are best seen up close with a short hike in Deukmejian Wilderness Park where they are blooming just off the trails.
The yucca goes by a lot of names, all with interesting origins, and all related to the settlement of California. The word “yucca” was mistakenly applied to our plants by the Spanish explorers. Our yuccas share a resemblance with the cassava plant in the Caribbean, called “yuca” by the native people there. Early American settlers of California called it the “Lord’s candle” (because of its flame-shape when flowering), or “Spanish bayonet” (because of its sharp leaf-points), both a romantic reference to the California Mission era. Even its Latin name, Hesperoyucca whipplei, has American settlement roots. It’s named for Amiel Whipple, a surveyor for the Pacific Railroad coming to California in the 1850s.
Our local native yuccas are related to a wide variety of plants with vastly different shapes. For example, Joshua trees are a form of yucca, as are several small yard landscaping plants that are currently quite popular in drought-tolerant yard plantings.
One fun fact about the yucca is the symbiotic relationship it has with a particular insect, the aptly named yucca moth. Each spring when the yucca flowers blossom, the male and female yucca moths meet for a romantic rendezvous at the local yucca, which acts as a natural singles bar. When the female is ready to lay eggs, she collects pollen from a yucca flower then flies to another yucca. She lays her eggs in the new flower then packs the collected pollen on top of the eggs, thus pollinating the flower, so that it will produce seeds. Once the seeds start growing, the moth eggs hatch, the baby moths eat a few seeds, leaving several others intact for future propagation. They then burrow out and drop to the ground, where they cocoon up to hatch the next spring. The yucca is exclusively pollinated by the yucca moth, and the yucca moth only eats yucca seeds. They can’t survive without each other!
The Native Americans made extensive use of the yucca. Probably its main use was for cordage. The long leaves of the yucca are extremely fibrous. The leaves were soaked in water or warmed over fire, then pounded gently with a rock until the stingy fibers broke apart into individual strands. The strands were braided and any number of items could be produced with the resulting string: String, ropes, nets, blankets, clothing, sandals and baskets were all produced with the fiber of yucca leaves. As well, the leaves have a coating that was used as a soap by the native people.
The rest of the yucca was used as a food source. The bulb at the base of the plant was roasted and eaten like a potato. The stalks were prepared and eaten in the same way. The flowers were eaten after rinsing to remove the bitterness, but the fruit was eaten raw. The seeds were roasted and pounded into flour. It was a well-used plant. Even the thorn at the end of the leaves was used as a tool for sewing or making holes.
Medicinal uses of yucca were many for the Native Americans, the plant bordering on a “cure all.” Digestion, arthritis, headaches, asthma, high blood pressure – you name it, and yucca treated it. Its use continues today in some supplements and is found in some veterinary medicines.
But for us here in the valley, the yuccas of our surrounding mountains are simply pleasing to the eye. And once you know their history, they’re a wonderful link to our past as well.