Hesperoyucca whippleiThis amazing plant is native to the southern half of California and the norther
Hesperoyucca whippleiThis amazing plant is native to the southern half of California and the northern half of Baja California. It was long classified as a Yucca, under the name Yucca whipplei, but its flowering habit is like that of an Agave - storing up energy for many years, and then putting everything into a large flowering stalk that shoots up like an asparagus shoot. Then, after it flowers, the rosette dies. So finally it got its own genus, Hesperoyucca, while keeping the species-name whipplei. We have never before had one come into flower so early in the year, and it happened with stunning rapidity - less than 2 weeks from the stalk starting to grow until it was in flower. The upper photo above was taken on Feb. 17, while the lower 2 were taken only a week later, on Feb. 24. Also noteworthy is the flower color: most often, Hesperoyucca whipplei has white flowers, but sometimes the petals are purple-tipped or flushed with purple. In this case, they have purple edging that gives them a very distinctive look.-Brian -- source link
#hesperoyucca#asparagaceae#agavoideae