Flora of North America species comparison

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Yucca treculeana

Yucca arkansana

Don Quixote's lace, izote de chocha, palma pita, Spanish dagger, Trecul yucca

Arkansas yucca
Habit Plants often forming colonies of rosettes, arborescent, to 7 m; rosettes with leaves hanging at various angles, giving an overall ragged appearance. Plants forming small colonies, acaulescent or caulescent; rosettes usually small.
Stems

1–8, occasionally 2–5-branched, 14–15 cm diam.

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.
Leaf

blade erect, yellowish to bluish green, usually U- or V-shaped in cross section, thick, 36–128 × 1.6–7 cm, rigid, scabrous, margins entire, filiferous with straight, coarse fibers, light brown.

Inflorescences

erect, paniculate, arising mostly within rosettes, variable in shape, usually ovoid, 18 dm, glabrous, rarely slightly pubescent;

peduncle scapelike, 0.3 m or longer.

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.
Flowers

pendent;

perianth globose;

tepals distinct, cream-colored, occasionally tinged with purple, ovate, 2.7–8.1 × 1–3.4 cm, apex rounded or acute;

filaments 1–2.7 cm, short-pubescent proximally;

anthers 1–6 mm;

pistil 1.5–3.5 × 0.5–1 cm;

ovary 1.3–3.3 cm;

style 2–8 mm;

stigmas distinct.

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.
Fruits

pendent, baccate, indehiscent, 4.4–18.7 × 1.8–4.6 cm, fleshy, succulent.

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

black, 5–14 mm diam., 1–5 mm thick.

dull black, thin, ca. 1 cm diam.

Yucca treculeana

Yucca arkansana
Phenology Flowering mid winter–spring. Flowering spring.
Habitat Grassy or rocky slopes or mesas, brushland, chaparral Gravelly soil, limestone outcrops, rocky hillsides, prairies
Elevation 0–1600 m (0–5200 ft) 100–400 m (300–1300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
NM; TX; n Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AR; KS; MO; OK; TX
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)
Source FNA vol. 26, p. 428. FNA vol. 26, p. 436.
Parent taxa Agavaceae > Yucca 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. schidigera, Y. tenuistyla, Y. thompsoniana, Y. utahensis
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
Synonyms Y. argospatha, Y. aspera, Y. baccata var. australis, Y. baccata var. macrocarpa, Y. canaliculata, Y. canaliculata var. pendula, Y. crassifila, Y. longifolia, Y. torreyi, Y. treculeana var. succulenta, Y. undulata Y. angustifolia var. mollis, Y. arkansana var. paniculata, Y. glauca var. mollis
Name authority Carrière: Rev. Hort., 580. (1858) Trelease: Rep. (Annual) Missouri Bot. Gard. 13: 63. (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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