Flora of North America species comparison

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Hesperoyucca whipplei

chaparral yucca, our lord's candle
Habit Plants monocarpic or polycarpic, sometimes rhizomatous, some with secondary rosettes at base or stems branching to form new rosettes after flowering; rosettes single or cespitose, in small to very large, compact or open communities, or occasionally solitary.
Leaves

20–90(–125) × 0.7–2 cm wide at base in narrow forms, 2–2.5 cm in broader forms.
Scape

0.9–3 m × 2.5–15 cm diam. near base.
Inflorescences

1 when rosette solitary, 1–many per rosette when rosettes in colonies, 2.5–28 × 1.5–7 dm at widest point.
Capsules

with conspicuous placental wings at maturity.

Hesperoyucca whipplei
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat Desert, chaparral, desert woodland coastal sage
Elevation 300–2500 m (1000–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Within Hesperoyucca whipplei, W. Trelease (1893) recognized two varieties, A. L. Haines (1941) and P. A. Munz (1959) each recognized five subspecies, and J. M. Webber (1953) recognized four varieties based on growth form. Others (S. D. McKelvey 1938–1947; K. K. McKinney and J. C. Hickman 1993) have argued that growth form in this species is highly variable, and have questioned the desirability of recognizing any infraspecific taxa at all in H. whipplei.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 440.
Parent taxa Agavaceae > Hesperoyucca
Sibling taxa
H. newberryi
Synonyms Yucca whipplei, H. whipplei var. graminifolia, Yucca californica, Yucca graminifolia, Yucca nitida, Yucca ortgensiana, Yucca whipplei subsp. caespitosa, Yucca whipplei var. caespitosa, Yucca whipplei subsp. intermedia, Yucca whipplei var. intermedia, Yucca whipplei subsp. parishii, Yucca whipplei var. parishii, Yucca whipplei subsp. percursa, Yucca whipplei var. percursa
Name authority (Torrey) Trelease: Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard 4: 208. (1893)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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