Yucca filifera Chabaud

Tree yucca, St. Peter’s palm

Tree yuccas are native to northeastern Mexico. They were first described by Benjamin Chabaud in 1876. Yuccas are rich in saponins, and have been used in the past as a substitute for soap. Here is a famous specimen from the Exotic Garden of Monaco.

Plants: Up to 33–46′ (10–14 m) in height, 9½′ (3 m) in diameter. They typically begin to branch out at a height of 9½–13′ (3–4 m).

Leaves: Like other yuccas, clusters of sharp rigid straplike leaves emerge from the plant tops, interspersed with tough curly thin white filaments. Leaves are blue-green in color, forming clusters up to 3′ (91 cm) in diameter.

Flowers: Flower clusters 4–6′ (1.2–1.8 m) long are covered with cream-colored flowers. Flowers appear from February to April.

Fruits: Fleshy fruits have blackish and thin seeds.

Habitats: Found at altitudes of 1400–7800′ (426–2377 m), in areas with an annual rainfall of around 11–24″ (27–60 cm). Y. filifera grows in a huge variety of environments, forming large forests at the foot of mountains. It is found in deep soils, desert-scrub, grassland, thorn-scrub and occasionally in oak or pinyon-juniper woodland.

See the Yucca page for a comparison with other yuccas.

Edibility: The fruit is edible raw or cooked. Flowers are said to be delicious, and even the flowering stems may be cooked and eaten like asparagus.

Online References:

References:

Older scientific or horticultural names

Yucca filifera description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

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