Yucca

Chaparral Yucca bloom up close (Hesperoyucca whipplei). The Yucca plant stands in sharp contrast to the tall flower. For hikers in the Chaparral the spiked leaves are a well know hazard. For a few years the Yucca is a low, tough, gray green rosette of thin, wickedly spiked leaves. I've had many Yucca puncture wounds below the knee. When it flowers, an amazing stalk shoots up so fast you can almost see it grow. After one flowering the plant dies.