| Mojave Yucca |
| Yucca schidigera |
| Family: Asparagaceae (Yucca) |
| Flowers — color: white, size: 1.5" long, type: bell |
Mojave Yucca has a hanging bell-shaped flower, about 1.5 inches long. Each bloom has six white petals. The flower does not seem to open as far as the chaparral yucca.
The flower stalk extends several feet from the stem, then produces a dozen side branches, each holding many flowers, a panicle. The general form is a cone or Christmas tree of flowers.
I have passed this area many times, but rarely see any blooms. I caught these photos in January, so the blooming season is very different from the nearby chaparral yucca.
Habit:
Mojave Yucca is an evergreen perennial. Long pointed leaves grow radially atop a large trunk, ten–twenty feet high. Dead leaves hang down, obscuring the trunk from view. The cluster of leaves is similar to its relative, the Joshua tree, but its trunk forms no branches.
These yuccas share a symbiotic relationship with a particular moth species (see chaparral yucca). These trees are hundreds of miles from their normal range, the Mojave Desert and eastern San Diego County, so their presence must be related to the old horse stables, and just 50 yards from the chaparral yucca. Sunny, open.
Observations:
Four distinct colonies along driveway to VVCSD water tanks.