Flora of North America species comparison

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Yucca baccata

Yucca madrensis

banana yucca, datil yucca, Spanish bayonet

Sierra madre yucca, yucca
Habit Plants often forming open colonies of rosettes, acaulescent or short-caulescent, shorter than 2.5 m. Stems, if present, decumbent, 1–24, aerial or subterranean, simple or sometimes branched, to 2 m. Leaf blade erect, bluish green, concavo-convex, 30–100 × 2–6 cm, rigid, scabrous or glaucous, margins brown. Plants solitary, caulescent, shorter than 3 m. Stems 1, simple, unbranched, shorter than 2 m. Leaf blade erect to reflexing with age, bluish-glaucous or green to yellow-green, thin, flat to conduplicate, flexible, margins entire or occasionally filiferous with slender fibers, brown to grayish, smooth.
Inflorescences

erect, paniculate, dense, arising completely within to mostly extending beyond rosettes, ovoid, 6–8.2 dm, glabrous, rarely slightly pubescent;

peduncle scapelike, to 0.8 m. Flowers pendent, 5–13 cm, nearly as wide;

perianth campanulate;

tepals connate basally to form shallow floral cup 7–12 mm, usually cream-colored, occasionally tinged with purple, 4.5–13 cm;

filaments connate proximally into collarlike structure, 3.2–12 mm, fleshy, pubescent;

anthers 5–7 mm;

pistil 4.5–8 × 0.7–1.2 cm (usually 4–5(–7) times longer than broad);

ovary 0.7–1.2 cm;

style 5–7 mm;

stigmas distinct.

erect, paniculate, somewhat open, arising 1/4–1/2 within rosettes, elongate-ovoid, to 8 dm, sparsely pubescent.
Flowers

pendent, 3.5 cm;

perianth ovoid;

tepals distinct, or barely connate basally, white, ovate-lanceolate to lanceolate, ca. 3 × 1.4 cm;

filaments ca. 1.5 cm, glabrous;

pistil 1.5–4 cm;

ovary ca. 2.5 cm.
Fruits

pendent, baccate, indehiscent, elongate, 5–23 × 4–7.5 cm, fleshy, succulent.

becoming pendent, baccate, indehiscent, 6–12.5 × 2.5–3.8 cm, fleshy, succulent.
Seeds

dull black, obovate, 7–11 mm diam., 3 mm thick, rugose.

gray, 7–10 mm diam., 5–8 mm thick.

Yucca baccata

Yucca madrensis
Phenology Flowering in summer with rains.
Habitat Madrean pine-oak forest
Elevation 1400–1600 m (4600–5200 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
North America; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Yucca madrensis is closely related to Y. jaliscensis to the south and the Y. schottii complex to the north. We follow L. W. Lenz and M. A. Hanson (2000b), who have determined that plants with long, wide, flexible, blue leaves that are now usually identified as Y. schottii Engelmann (not congruent with Engelmann’s original description) are more correctly referred to Y. madrensis. Lenz and Hanson further suggested that what is now called Y. schottii represents a hybrid complex among Y. baccata, Y. elata, and Y. madrensis. This putative hybridization is conjectural, and without firm evidence we are uncertain as to the appropriate disposition of the name Y. schottii. We are somewhat skeptical of the potential for crosses between baccate species (Y. baccata and Y. madrensis) and capsular species (Y. elata).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Plants acaulescent or caulescent; stems 1–6, aerial or subterranean, shorter than 0.3 m; leaf margins coarse, curling.
var. baccata
1. Plants caulescent; stems 1–24, aerial, often branched, some reaching 2 m; leaf margins filiferous.
var. brevifolia
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 427. FNA vol. 26, p. 428.
Parent taxa Agavaceae > Yucca Agavaceae > Yucca
Sibling taxa
Y. aloifolia, Y. angustissima, Y. arkansana, 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. necopina, Y. neomexicana, Y. pallida, Y. reverchonii, Y. rostrata, Y. rupicola, Y. schidigera, Y. tenuistyla, Y. thompsoniana, Y. treculeana, Y. utahensis
Subordinate taxa
Y. baccata var. baccata, Y. baccata var. brevifolia
Name authority Torrey: in W. H. Emory, Rep. U.S. Mex. Bound. 2(1): 221. (1859) Gentry: Agave Fam. Sonora, 159, fig. 62. (1972)
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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