Our Lord's Candle
Encyclopedia
Hesperoyucca whipplei (chaparral yucca, our Lord's candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca, common yucca, foothill yucca) 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.
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 seed
s.
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.
websites do not recognise the name as current).
Among those botanists who have treated (or still treat) it as a species of Yucca, six subspecies have been recognised (Hochstätter 2000, 2002, 2004); others have regarded them as varieties. Yet others (e.g. Flora of North America and the Jepson Flora) do not recognise any subspecies or varieties (within either Yucca whipplei or Hesperoyucca whipplei ), as the wide variability within the species precludes the segregation of discrete subspecies.
Hochstätter's subspecies are:
The plant treated as the subspecies Yucca whipplei subsp. newberryi has been shown to be genetically distinct, and is often 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.
. 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.
in Southern California
, but reportedly is difficult to grow outside of its native range (although it is widely available from specialist nurseries in the UK). It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils.
It was used extensively by Native Americans
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus Yucca
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
. It is native to southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where it occurs mainly in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
, and oak woodland plant communities at altitudes of 300–2500 m.
Description
The single inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
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
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
up to 70 cm broad, covering the upper half of the inflorescence. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a dry winged capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
, which splits open at maturity to release the seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
The plant takes several (usually 5+) years to reach maturity and flower, at which point it usually dies. Most subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
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 and controversial. Hesperoyucca was described as a genus by Georg Engelmann as long ago as 1892, but it has taken recent DNA analysis to confirm that they are genetically distinct from Yucca. The splitting of Hesperoyucca from Yucca is still not widely reflected in available literature or online (for example, the British Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Royal Horticultural SocietyRoyal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
websites do not recognise the name as current).
Among those botanists who have treated (or still treat) it as a species of Yucca, six subspecies have been recognised (Hochstätter 2000, 2002, 2004); others have regarded them as varieties. Yet others (e.g. Flora of North America and the Jepson Flora) do not recognise any subspecies or varieties (within either Yucca whipplei or Hesperoyucca whipplei ), as the wide variability within the species precludes the segregation of discrete subspecies.
Hochstätter's subspecies are:
- Yucca whipplei ssp. whipplei
- Yucca whipplei ssp. caespitosa
- Yucca whipplei ssp. intermedia
- Yucca whipplei ssp. percursa
- Yucca whipplei ssp. newberryi
- Yucca whipplei ssp. eremica
The plant treated as the subspecies Yucca whipplei subsp. newberryi has been shown to be genetically distinct, and is often treated as a distinct species, Hesperoyucca newberryi. It is native further east, in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and differs in the capsules being unwinged or with only slight wings.
Ecology
It is pollinated by the California yucca moth (Tegeticula maculata), a relationship which has become a classic example of symbiosisSymbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
. 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
Stigma (botany)
The stigma is the receptive tip of a carpel, or of several fused carpels, in the gynoecium of a flower. The stigma receives pollen at pollination and it is on the stigma that the pollen grain germinates. The stigma is adapted to catch and trap pollen with various hairs, flaps, or sculpturings...
, she inserts her ovipositor
Ovipositor
The ovipositor is an organ used by some animals for oviposition, i.e., the laying of eggs. It consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages formed to transmit the egg, to prepare a place for it, and to place it properly...
into the ovary wall and lays a single egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
. She then rubs her pollen mass against the central stigmatic depression, ensuring pollination
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
. The pollinated ovary will now produce many seeds, ensuring an ample food supply for the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
. Although many associations of Yucca
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
and yucca moth exist, Tegeticula muculata and Hesperoyucca whipplei form an exclusive relationship.
Etymology
- "Yuca" is a native name for the unrelated ManihotManihotManihot is a plant genus of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. It contains around 98 species that are native to the Americas, from Arizona in the United States south to Argentina...
. - Yucca whipplei is named after A. W. Whipple (1816–1863), a surveyor who oversaw the Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific RailroadThe Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
Survey to Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1853. - 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
Yucca whipplei is used in xeriscapingXeriscaping
Xeriscaping and xerogardening refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation...
in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, but reportedly is difficult to grow outside of its native range (although it is widely available from specialist nurseries in the UK). It is extremely drought tolerant and thrives in clay soils.
It was used extensively by Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
- FiberFiberFiber is a class of materials that are continuous filaments or are in discrete elongated pieces, similar to lengths of thread.They are very important in the biology of both plants and animals, for holding tissues together....
from the leaves was used for sandals, cloth, and ropeRopeA rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
. - 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 flourFlourFlour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
. - Roots pounded in water produce a latherFoam-Definition:A foam is a substance that is formed by trapping gas in a liquid or solid in a divided form, i.e. by forming gas regions inside liquid regions, leading to different kinds of dispersed media...
that was used as soapSoapIn chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
and shampooShampooShampoo is a hair care product used for the removal of oils, dirt, skin particles, dandruff, environmental pollutants and other contaminant particles that gradually build up in hair...
.