Yucca is a genus of over 40 perennial plants, shrubs, and trees. A few are grown as houseplants, including Yucca gigantea (also known as Y. guatemalensis and Y. elephantipes) and the Yucca aloifolia.

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” ...