Flora of North America species comparison

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Yucca arkansana

Yucca tenuistyla

Arkansas yucca

whiterim yucca
Habit Plants forming small colonies, acaulescent or caulescent; rosettes usually small. Plants forming open colonies, acaulescent or short-caulescent; rosettes usually small.
Stems

decumbent, short, to 0.2 m. Leaf blade mostly yellowish green, flattened, grasslike, concavo-convex, widest near middle, 20–60(–70) × 0.7–2(–2.5) cm, flexible, margins entire, curled, filiferous, apex long, tapering to short spines 1.6–3.2 mm.

erect, to 0.5 m. Leaf blade mostly recurving, lanceolate, plano-convex, widest near middle, 40–70 × 1–2 cm, rigid, margins entire, filiferous, whitish, apex scarcely pungent.
Inflorescences

racemose, occasionally paniculate proximally, arising within rosettes or at rosette level, 3–6(–8) dm, glabrous;

bracts erect;

peduncle scapelike, 0.2–0.5(–0.6) m, 0.3–0.7(–1.3) cm diam.

paniculate, arising beyond rosettes, ovoid, to 10 dm, distance from leaf tips to proximal inflorescence branches more than twice leaf length when fully expanded, glabrous or slightly pubescent;

bracts erect;

peduncle scapelike, 1–1.7 m, less than 2.5 cm diam.
Flowers

pendent;

perianth globose;

tepals distinct, greenish white, elliptic to orbicular or oblong, 3.2–6.5 × 2–5 cm;

filaments 1.3–2.5 cm;

anthers 3.2 mm;

pistil 2.5–2.8(–3.2) cm;

style dark green, 7–13 mm, tumid;

stigmas lobed.

pendent;

tepals narrow, apex acute;

filaments shorter than pistil;

pistil 1.5–3.8 cm;

ovary white;

style white or green, oblong, often deeply lobed;

stigmas lobed.
Fruits

erect, capsular, dehiscent, oblong-cylindric to obovoid, constricted near middle, stout, 4–6.5(–7) × 2–3 cm, dehiscence septicidal.

erect, capsular, dehiscent, cylindrical, symmetrical, not constricted, stout, 5–6.5 × 2.5–3 cm, dehiscence septicidal.
Seeds

dull black, thin, ca. 1 cm diam.

glossy black, thin, 8–10 × 7–8 mm.

Yucca arkansana

Yucca tenuistyla
Phenology Flowering spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Gravelly soil, limestone outcrops, rocky hillsides, prairies Brushlands to coast
Elevation 100–400 m (300–1300 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; KS; MO; OK; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
Discussion

Yucca arkansana shows considerable variation, particularly in the eastern part of its range. S. D. McKelvey (1938–1947) described var. paniculata and suggested that it is an eastern extension of the species with a taller, paniculate, and pubescent inflorescence. Yucca arkansana approaches Y. louisianensis, which we have reduced to synonymy under Y. flaccida. K. H. Clary’s (1997) DNA consensus tree places Y. arkansana and Y. louisianensis adjacent to one another.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Very little is known about Yucca tenuistyla, and further study is needed. Along with Y. louisianensis, it was treated by S. D. McKelvey (1938–1947) as a part of Y. constricta. The characteristics separating these three taxa are tenuous, and it is possible that Y. tenuistyla is just a variant of Y. flaccida, which includes Y. louisianensis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 436. FNA vol. 26, p. 438.
Parent taxa Agavaceae > Yucca Agavaceae > Yucca
Sibling taxa
Y. aloifolia, Y. angustissima, Y. baccata, Y. baileyi, Y. brevifolia, Y. campestris, Y. constricta, Y. elata, Y. faxoniana, Y. filamentosa, Y. flaccida, Y. glauca, Y. gloriosa, Y. harrimaniae, Y. intermedia, Y. madrensis, Y. necopina, Y. neomexicana, Y. pallida, Y. reverchonii, Y. rostrata, Y. rupicola, Y. schidigera, Y. tenuistyla, Y. thompsoniana, Y. treculeana, Y. utahensis
Y. aloifolia, Y. angustissima, Y. arkansana, Y. baccata, Y. baileyi, Y. brevifolia, Y. campestris, Y. constricta, Y. elata, Y. faxoniana, Y. filamentosa, Y. flaccida, Y. glauca, Y. gloriosa, Y. harrimaniae, Y. intermedia, Y. madrensis, Y. necopina, Y. neomexicana, Y. pallida, Y. reverchonii, Y. rostrata, Y. rupicola, Y. schidigera, Y. thompsoniana, Y. treculeana, Y. utahensis
Synonyms Y. angustifolia var. mollis, Y. arkansana var. paniculata, Y. glauca var. mollis
Name authority Trelease: Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 13: 63. (1902) Trelease: Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 13: 53, plate 17, fig. 2, plates 18, 19, plate 83, fig. 3, plate 92, fig. 1. (1902)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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