Flora of North America species comparison

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Yucca schidigera

Mohave yucca, Mojave yucca, Spanish dagger
Habit Plants forming colonies of rosettes, shrubby, caulescent, to 5 m.
Stems

1–8, simple or sparingly branched.
Leaf

blade erect, yelloish green, sword-shaped, broadest at middle, markedly concave, thick, 33–130 × 3–5 cm, rigid, glabrous, margins entire, filiferous with coarse fibers.
Inflorescences

erect, paniculate, dense, arising entirely within or scarcely beyond rosettes, obovoid or ellipsoid and flat distally, 3–6 dm;

peduncle scapelike, to 4 dm.
Flowers

pendent;

perianth globose;

tepals spreading, distinct, white or cream, lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, 3–5(–7.5) × 1–1.8 cm;

filaments 2–2.5 cm, papillose at base;

anthers 3.2 mm;

pistil 1.8 × 2.5 cm;

ovary 1.7–2.7 × 0.7–1.2 cm, apex abruptly tapered;

style 1–2 mm;

stigmas distinct.
Fruits

pendent, baccate, indehiscent, elongate, cylindrical, 5–11.5 × 3–4 cm, fleshy, succulent.
Seeds

gray, 8–11 mm diam., 6–9 mm thick, rugose.

Yucca schidigera
Phenology Flowering late winter–early spring.
Habitat Deserts and chaparral, rocky or gravelly mountain slopes
Elevation 300–1200 m [1000–3900 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; NV; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Yucca schidigera is usually used for landscaping in the southwest and by Native Americans for food and fiber. Capsules made from inflorescence stalks are sold as natural health products.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 429.
Parent taxa Agavaceae > Yucca
Sibling taxa
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. tenuistyla, Y. thompsoniana, Y. treculeana, Y. utahensis
Synonyms Y. californica, Y. mohavensis
Name authority Roezl ex Ortgies: Gartenflora 20: 110. (1871)
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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