Yucca aloifolia |
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aloe yucca, dagger plant, Spanish bayonet |
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Habit | Plants forming colonies of rosettes, arborescent, to 7 m. |
Stems | 1–3, erect or somewhat declining, simple or sparingly branched. |
Leaf | blade erect, dark green, flattened or slightly concave, thick, 12–40 × 2.5–6 cm, rigid, margins sharply denticulate or entire, rarely filiferous with straight fibers. |
Inflorescences | pendent, paniculate, arising 1/4–1/2 within rosettes, somewhat conical, 4.5–6.1 dm, glabrous or slightly pubescent; peduncle scapelike, to 3 dm. |
Flowers | pendent, to 7 cm; perianth globose; tepals spreading, connate basally for less than 1 mm, creamy white tinged with green or purple near base, lanceolate, 3–4 × 1.2–2.2 cm; filaments ca. 2 cm; anthers 2–3 mm; pistil light green, 3–4 × 0.8–1 cm; ovary stipitate, 2–5 cm; style 5 mm; stigmas distinct. |
Fruits | pendent, baccate, without core, indehiscent, 3.5–5 × 2–2.6 cm, with fleshy, succulent, purple pulp. |
Seeds | dull black, round-ovate, 5–7 mm diam., 2.5 mm thick. |
Yucca aloifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering fall. |
Habitat | Sand dunes or shell mounds near coasts |
Elevation | 0–1800 m (0–5900 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; Mexico; Central America; West Indies
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Discussion | Yucca aloifolia has been widely cultivated, and horticultural forms (or varieties, depending upon the source) differ in the striping of yellow and white on the leaves. Results of DNA studies by K. H. Clary (1997) show a close relationship between this species and Y. gloriosa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 26, p. 429. |
Parent taxa | Agavaceae > Yucca |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Y. serrulata |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 319. (1753) |
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