Article: Our Lord's Candle

?Our Lord's Candle
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Asparagales Family: Agavaceae Genus: Hesperoyucca Species: H. whipplei
Binomial name
Hesperoucca whipplei (Torr.) Trel.

Hesperoyucca whipplei (syn. Yucca whipplei; Our Lord's Candle, Spanish Bayonet, Quixote Yucca, Common Yucca or others, see below) is a species of flowering plant closely related to and formerly usually included in the genus Yucca. It is native to southern California, United States and Baja California, Mexico, where it occurs mainly in chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and oak woodland plant communities at altitudes of 300-2500 m.

Several of a mass of hundreds of such flowers on the inflorescence of Hesperoyucca whipplei

It produces a stemless cluster of long, rigid leaves which end in a sharp point. The leaves are 20-90 cm (rarely to 125 cm) long and 0.7-2 cm wide, and gray-green in color. The leaf edges are finely saw-toothed.

The single inflorescence grows extremely fast, and reaches 0.9-3 m tall, bearing hundreds of elliptical (bell shaped) white to purplish flowers 3 cm diameter on a densely branched panicle up to 70 cm broad, covering the upper half of the inflorescence. The fruit is a dry winged capsule, which splits open at maturity to release the seeds.

The plant takes several (usually 5+) years to reach maturity and flower, at which point it usually dies. Most subspecies produce offshoots from the base, so that although the parent plant flowers and dies, a cluster of clones around its base continue to grow and reproduce.

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of Hesperoyucca whipplei is complex; several subspecies have been recognised by some authorities (e.g. Hochstätter 2000, 2002, 2004), but others (e.g. Flora of North America and the Jepson Flora) do not recognise any subspecies or varieties, as the wide variability within the species precludes the segregation of discrete subspecies.

The plant formerly treated as the subspecies Yucca whipplei subsp. newberryi has been shown to be genetically distinct, and is now treated as a distinct species Hesperoyucca newberryi. It is native further east, in Arizona, and differs in the capsules being unwinged or with only slight wings.

Ecology

It is pollinated by the California yucca moth (Tegeticula muculata), a relationship which has become a classic example of symbiosis. Working at night, the female 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, Tegeticula muculata and Hesperoyucca whipplei form an exclusive relationship.

Etymology

• "Yuca" is a native name for the unrelated Manihot.
• Hesperoyucca whipplei is named after A. W. Whipple (1816-1863), a surveyor who oversaw the Pacific Railroad Survey to Los Angeles in 1953. (Dale 1986, p. 24)
• The name Our Lord's Candle is derived from its huge, flame shaped inflorescence.
• Spanish Bayonet refers to the needle-sharp leaf tips which can cause discomfort to the unwary passer-by.

Cultivation and uses

Hesperoyucca whipplei is used in xeriscaping in Southern California, but reportedly is difficult to grow outside of its native range. It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils.

It was used extensively by Native Americans (Dole & Rose 1996, p. 59):

• Fiber from the leaves was used for sandals, cloth, and rope.
• Young flowers are edible but may be bitter.
• Fruits can be eaten raw, roasted, or pounded into meal.
• Seeds were roasted and eaten whole or ground into flour.
• Roots pounded in water produce a lather that was used as soap and shampoo.

Dried flower stalk with seedpods

Fruit

Dried and opened seedpod