California is truly is a land of flowers. Snow-flowers bloom in the high Sierras, and Verbenas bloom in the sands of the beach. Between the snow-flower and the verbena there are thousands of other flowers, each in its place and each blooming in its time. So many varieties of flowering plants are here in California, and so varied is their time of blooming that there is never a day when it is impossible to gather a bouquet. Of all the plants that bloom in California there are few whose beauty rivals that of he flower of the yucca. This plant adorns the hillsides and the valleys in greatest splendor; and even though it chooses the poorest soil for its bed, it puts forth the largest bloom of any plant within the state.
Of all the yuccas I have found, the largest and the most beautiful is the San Antonio Bonita which grows near the base of the San Antonio mountains between five and six thousand feet above the sea. The flowering yucca invariably inspires strangers when they gaze upon its beauty for the first time. Not without reason has it been called "The Lord's Handle." Never does this plant cease to be a marvel for its nature is so strange; its way so queer. Coming from a small, black disk-like seed the yucca springs through the earth's crust and mingles with the floral covering of the landscape.
From the beginning, Nature provides for its protection. Protruding from all sides and reaching heavenward, are sharp, sword-like leaves that have on their ends keen, hardened spears. Severe cases of blood-poisoning have sometimes resulted from contact with these spears. Year after year the yucca grows larger. Year after year it gathers within its center bulb as much moisture as it can obtain. At last the plant reaches a circumference of approximately ten feet and a height of from three to five feet. By this time twenty-five seasons have come and gone; yet not till now has that center-bulb obtained sufficient moisture for the blooming period. But now a very rapid change takes place. The bulb begins to enlarge and to spread out at the crown. It forces out leaves that are, for the first time, warmed by the sun.
These yellow-white leaves are the first sign of blooming. This causes the bulb to seem like a yellowwhite stone in a light green setting. Only for a short time does this simile hold, for the stem soon appears. This stem often grows eight or ten inches in twenty-four hours. For at least ten days, this rapid growth continues. By this time, the stem has attained its full height. I have often seen San Antonio Bonitas with stems sixteen feet long.
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