Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Nolina parryi (Parry's Nolina or Giant Nolina) is a flowering plant in the family Ruscaceae. It grows in the upper elevations of the Peninsular Range, the Mojave Desert and the southern Sierra Nevada.up to 2100 meters. It can exceed two meters in height, its flower cluster reaching 4 meters. The trunk is up to 60 centimeters in diameter. Leaves are borne in dense rosettes, each with up to 220 stiff linear leaves up to 140 centimeters long and 4 broad. It is dioecious, with separate male and female plants; the flowers are white, produced on the tall plume-like flower cluster that normally appears in late spring. The fruit is a delicate, papery, three-lobed pod.


This plant requires fast draining soil and dry slopes. It needs full sun. This plant is extremely drought tolerant, and after established, it should survive the dry months with no supplementary water. Since it's primarily a desert plant, it's evolved to handle summer monsoons, and tolerates occasional water (1x per month).

Plant type

Perennial herb, Succulent

Size

4 - 7 ft Tall
4 ft Wide

Form

Fountain

Growth rate

Moderate

Dormancy

Evergreen

Calscape icon
Color

Cream, White

Flowering season

Spring

Special uses

Groundcover, Hedge

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Very Low, Low

Summer irrigation

Max 1x / month once established

Ease of care

Moderate

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 25° F

Soil drainage

Fast

Soil description

This plant requires coarse, fast draining soil such as decomposed granite.
Soil PH: 6.0 - 7.5

Maintenance

The dried flower stalk can be left in place or pruned out.

Propagation

By pups, cuttings or seeds.  For propagating by seed: No treatment. (Everett 1957).

Sunset Zones

1, 2, 3, 7*, 8, 9, 11, 12*, 13, 14*, 15*, 16*, 17, 18*, 19*, 20*, 21*, 22*, 23*, 24*

Site type

Dry slopes and ridges, often very rocky, usually below 3, 600 ft. on the drier eastern flank of the mountains

Plant communities

Chaparral, Coastal Sage Scrub, Joshua Tree Woodland, Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

In desert settings, Joshua Tree, Apricot Mallow, Desert Brittlebush, Creosote Bush, Desert Agave, California Juniper, Pinyon Pine and Rush Milkweed. In chaparral settings, San Diego Viguiera, California Buckwheat (ssp. polifolium), Salvia spp., and Ceanothus species.

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Sosipatra rileyella

Gray Hairstreak

Strymon melinus