 After several years of growth, there emerges a single, unbranched flower stalk, 4 to 10 ft. tall, with a terminal cluster of hundreds of 1- 1 1/2 in. white to green or purple-tinged bell-shaped flowers that bloom (in April and May), from the bottom to the top. Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside Co., CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
Chaparral Yucca A small shrub with a basal rosette of 1 to 3 ft. long, spine-tipped, rigid, saw-toothed, bayonet-shaped leaves that point out in all directions. Common on dry slopes in chaparral and coastal sage scrub; Santa Ana Mountains and mountain foothills (Roberts). Native Americans made flour from the seed; used the strong fibers from the leaves for making cordage, nets and baskets; ate flowers and roasted young flower stalks. Roots contain saponin, which produces copious suds when soaked (Nancy Dale). Comparisons with Nolina cismontana Native to California Back to Agavaceae of Orange County, California |
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 O'Neill Regional Park, Trabuco Canyon, Orange County, CA. 4-11-10. © Joan Avise |
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 Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
 Developing fruits. Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
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 O'Neill Regional Park, Trabuco Canyon, Orange County, CA.4-11-10. © Joan Avise |
 Flowers have a superior ovary, and 1-1.5 cm. pistil with feathery, 3-lobed, green stigma. Each flower remains open for several days, with continuous flowering of a plant for as long as 7 weeks. O'Neill Regional Park, Trabuco Canyon, Orange County, CA. 4-11-10. © Joan Avise |
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 Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
 Developing fruits. Tucker Wildlife Sanctuary, Modjeska Canyon, Orange County, CA. 7-16-06. © Joan Avise |
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 Caspers Wilderness Park, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, CA. 4-29-07. © Joan Avise |
 Developing fruits. Limestone Canyon Wilderness Park, Irvine, Orange County, CA. 6-4-11. © Joan Avise |
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 Fruit is a dry winged capsule. The flowering shoot dies in autumn, after fruits have matured and released seed. Mature seed pod. Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
 Mature seed pods. Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
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 Blue Jay Campground, Cleveland National Forest, Riverside County, CA. 6-11-11. © Joan Avise |
 Oak Flats, San Mateo Wldns., 3-27-16. © Ron Vanderhoff. |
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 Flower bud. Caspers Wilderness Park, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, CA. 4-29-07. © Joan Avise |
 There are distinct populations of plants based on means of reproduction: one produces young plants, or "pups," at the base from rhizomes (underground clone-forming stems) and from seeds; others reproduce only by seed (Clarke). Young plant. Caspers Wilderness Park, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, CA. 4-29-07. © Joan Avise |
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| Associations with Insects | |||||||||||||||||||
Pollination is by the California Yucca Moth (Tegeticula maculata) with which it has a symbiotic relationship. The pregnant female moth gathers sacks of sticky masses of pollen grains (pollinia, 2 inside each anther chamber) from flowers at night, and forms them into a ball larger than her head. She carries the ball in her mouth, pressed against her thorax, to another flower, which ensures cross-pollination. Standing with her head near the stigma, she inserts her ovipositor into the ovary wall and lays a single egg. She then forces the pollen mass into the central stigmatic depression, thus pollinating the flower. The larva hatches out inside the fruit in late spring or summer, and feeds on the developing seeds through summer and autumn. The larva forms a feeding cavity inside a group of 6-14 seeds fastened together with silk. In late fall after the first autumn rains the larva exits the pod which by has now split open to release the seeds. The larva has been reported to spin a thread to lower itself the ground where it buries itself and forms a cocoon. In spring, warm weather stimulates pupation and emergence of the adult moth, when yucca plants are again in bloom, allowing the cycle to repeat.
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