It remains a mystery why Linnaeus chose the Carib word yucca, meaning the entirely dissimilar
cassava plant (Manihot esculenta), for the
genus Yucca. Yuccas used to be in the lily family, but have recently been found to be part of the agave
family.
Generally they have thick narrow straplike leaves that emerge from a common point at the
base, looking like a tuft of very large grass. Most yucca leaves have springy, wiry white filaments,
a distinctive characteristic. Sometimes they have thick stems, making them tree-like.
A tall central spike emerges from the
leaves, covered with large, attractive flowers. Although most yuccas are adapted to
hot, dry climates, some are comfortable in temperate climates too.
The yuccas on this page have not yet been identified.
Some yuccas are acaulescent: they have no stems, and the leaves grow directly from the
ground. Others are small trees with stout,
sometimes branched, trunks. Here is a comparison of the stemless yuccas presently in the database:
(Yucca) · 2/26/2010 · San Diego Zoo, San Diego, California Species not yet identified
(Yucca) · 5/2/2007 · By Rhonda Tatiana Schorer Species not yet identified
Foliage up to 24" (60 cm); up to 7' (2.1 m) with the flower stalk
Up to 4' (1.2 m) × 4' (1.2 m)
30" (76 cm) tall × 30" (76 cm) wide
Flowers
Flowering spike is covered with numerous greenish-white or purplish urn-shaped hanging flowers, each with 3 petals
Cream-colored, copious, 1½-3½" (3.8-8.9 cm) long, hanging downward like inverted urns, on a stalk 3-5' (1-1.5 m) tall
Copious, downward-hanging urn-shaped flowers with sharply pointed petals on a stalk 3-8' (91-243 cm) tall
Leaves
16-28" (40-70 cm) long, wide at the base, narrowing toward the tips, like large grass blades, with white twisted wiry filaments. They are bluish- to yellowish-green
12-40" (30-101 cm) long × 1-2" (2.5-5 cm) wide, blue-green, stiff, narrowing to sharp tips, emerging from a central base
Medium green, swordlike leaves up to 3' (91 cm) long, emerging from a central point, with wiry white filaments
Seeds
Dark brown seed capsules
Capsules are yellow-green to purple, about 1" (2.5 cm) long × ½" (1.3 cm) wide
In groups of one to twenty tufts, each about 12-39" (30-100 cm) around
Flowers
15-50 bell-shaped hanging flowers, greenish-white, with six petals, on a stalk 12-80" (30-203 cm) tall
Urn-shaped, white, cream, or greenish white, sometimes tinged with purple, with purplish buds. 3 petals and 3 sepals. Flowers 1½-2" (4-6 cm) long × ⅝-1¼" (1.6-3.5 cm) wide
Leaves
Pale green, stiff, sword-shaped leaves 8-40" (20-101 cm) long, up to ⅛-⅜" (6-12 mm) wide
A small tree 4-15' (1.2-4.5 m) tall, with a thick brown trunk, sometimes branched, mostly covered in a skirt of dried leaves
Up to 33-46' (10-14 m) in height, and a diameter of up to 9½' (3 m). They typically begin to branch out at a height of 9½-13' (3-4 m).
A small tree 6-12' (1.8-3.7 m) high and 6' (1.8 m) wide, with a trunk that is sometimes branched. Leaves emerge in a spherical shape from the tips of the trunk(s), with dead leaves forming a skirt
Flowers
White, bell-shaped, 1-2" (3-6 cm) long. Flowers are on a spike that emerges well above the leaves
In clusters 4-6' (1.2-1.8 m) long are covered with cream-colored flowers.
White, round to bell-shaped, on 24-36" (60-91 cm) stalks above the leaf clusters
Leaves
In dense whorls at the top(s) of the trunk(s). Leaves are yellowish, leathery, 10-39" (25-100 cm) × ¹/₁₆-½" (2-13 mm) wide
Clusters of sharp rigid straplike leaves emerge from the plant tops, interspersed with tough curly thin white filaments. Leaves are blue-green, forming clusters up to 3' (91 cm) in diameter.
Stiff, narrow, swordlike, 8-24" (20-60 cm) × ½" (1.3 cm). Leaf edges are hard, pale yellow, often with fine teeth
Seeds
Capsules 1½-3" (4-8 cm) × ¾-1½" (2-4 cm)
1-2" (3-6 cm) long × ⅜-¾" (1-2 cm) thick
Range/ Zones
USDA Zones: 7-12
USDA Zones: 8-12
USDA Zones: 7b-11
Habitats
Dry, sandy plains, mesas and desert washes, desert grasslands
Species not yet identified 
