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Yucca
Also called Adam's Needles, Beargrasses, Needle Palms, Spanish Bayonets, Spanish Daggers, Yuccas
Yucca is a genus of about 50 species from the Americas, ranging from small shrubs to tree-like plants, grown for their rosettes of sword-shaped leaves. The key to growing them is sharp drainage and full sun, as most are drought-tolerant xerophytes.
Yucca ( YUK-ə) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayonet. The genus is generally classified in the asparagus family in a subfamily with the Agave, though historically it was part of the lily family. The species range from small shrubby plants to tree-like giants, such as the Joshua tree. All yuccas have rosettes of leaves that taper to points and inflorescences with many flowers that are mainly cream white with thick petals. Though adapted to a wide range of climates the plants are xerophytes, ones that specialize in dry living conditions.
The natural range of the yuccas stretches across much of southern North America from Panama in the south as far north as Alberta in Canada. The exact extent is disputed as though Yucca gigantea is listed by Plants of the World Online (POWO) and World Flora Online (WFO) as native to Central America, other sources like World Plants list it as introduced to all the nations of Central America. Likewise, Yucca flaccida is listed as native to Ontario by POWO, WFO, and World Plants, but is listed by the Database of Vascular Plants of Canada as introduced.
Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental plants in gardens and landscaping. Yucca plants have provided food and fibers to humans. Several yucca species have fleshy fruits that are edible, although the seeds they contain are not. Additionally, the flowers are edible both cooked and raw. The young flowering stems of some species are edible when cooked. The leaves, roots, stems, and hearts of the plants are all inedible due to high levels of saponins.
Aloe yucca · Narrowleaf yucca · Banana yucca · Joshua tree · Adam's needle · Weak-leaf yucca · Giant yucca · Soapweed yucca · Curve-leaf yucca · Moundlily yucca · Mojave yucca · Schott's yucca
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Yucca by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
