Flora of North America species comparison

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Yucca baccata

Yucca necopina

banana yucca, datil yucca, Spanish bayonet

Brazos River 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 cespitose, forming small colonies of rosettes, acaulescent or caulescent; rosettes usually small, each with ca. 50–85 leaves.
Stems

erect, to 0.4 m. Leaf blade erect, proximal becoming reflexed, slightly twisted, plano-convex, widest near middle, 50–80 × (1.5–)2–4 cm, rigid, margins entire, filiferous, white, apex acicular.
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.

paniculate, racemose distally or entirely, beginning mostly beyond rosettes, ovoid, 50–120 cm, glabrous;

proximal branches to 15 cm;

bracts erect, distal reduced;

peduncle 0.8–1.6 m, less than 2.5 cm diam.
Flowers

pendent;

perianth globose;

tepals greenish white, 4–4.5  1.5–3 cm;

filaments 12–15 mm, shorter than pistil;

pistil 1.5–3.8 cm;

stigmas lobed.
Fruits

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

erect, capsular, dehiscent, not conspicuously constricted, dehiscence septicidal.
Seeds

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

Yucca baccata

Yucca necopina
Phenology Flowering spring.
Habitat River terraces, deep sand
Elevation 200–300 m (700–1000 ft)
Distribution
from USDA
North America; Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Yucca necopina was originally described based only on plants from a single locality in Somervell County. Shinners’ sketchy description compared it with Y. arkansana, and he suggested that it might be a hybrid between Y. pallida and Y. arkansana. More recently, G. M. Diggs et al. (1999) reported new locations of Y. necopina from Hood, Parker, and Tarrant counties, and noted that molecular evidence provided to them by K. H. Clary supports its separate recognition.

(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. 438.
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. madrensis, 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) Shinners: Spring Fl. Dallas-Fort Worth, 91, 408. (1958)
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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