From the archive: This story originally published in The Desert Sun in 2019. On this south-facing slope in Morongo Valley there is a forest of very old Yucca schidigera, known as the Mojave yucca.

Thanks to an unexpectedly wet winter, it’s not hard this spring to spot chaparral yucca blooming on hillsides and ridgelines throughout Southern California. The plant is known as “our Lord’s candle” ...

One tends to associate yucca with the Gulf coast, American southwest, or Mexico. Their frequent appearance here in Western North Carolina lends an exotic touch to our lush mountainous landscape. I ...

The soaptree yucca, Yucca elata, is a slow-growing native plant that is well-worth waiting for. It is native to our region and the Chihuahuan desert, as well as northern Mexico. It’s very ...