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Yucca filamentosa
Also called Filament yucca, Spoonleaf yucca, Yucca, Beargrass, Common yucca, Needle palm, Silkgrass
Adam's needle is a multi-suckering evergreen shrub with sword-like leaves that have white threads along the edges, topped by tall spikes of cream flowers in early summer. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, and once established it is hard to remove because the roots keep sending up new shoots.
Yucca filamentosa, Adam's needle and thread, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae native to the southeastern United States. Growing to 3 metres (10 feet) tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture.
Y. filamentosa is widely cultivated in mild temperate and subtropical climates. A fairly compact species, it nevertheless presents a striking appearance with its sword-like leaves and dramatic flowerheads. It is naturally a focal point in the landscape, also providing a tropical touch in temperate gardens. It needs full sun and a well-drained soil, preferring an acid or slightly alkaline pH range of 5.5 to 7.5. It develops a large, fleshy, white taproot with deep lateral roots. Once planted and established, it is difficult to remove, as the roots keep sending up new shoots for many years. It is normally hardy down to −29 °C (−20 °F), or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) hardiness zones of 5 to 9: UK H7).
Yucca filamentosa is only native from Maryland south to Florida and westwards to Louisiana. Inland it is native to Tennessee and West Virginia, but is introduced to Kentucky. It has also an introduced plant in New York and Massachusetts and is also reported in France, Germany, Italy, Albania, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey.
Once the seeds have been removed, the fruits can be cooked and eaten. The large flower petals can also be eaten in salads.
Aloe yucca · Narrowleaf yucca · Banana yucca · Joshua tree · Weak-leaf yucca · Giant yucca · Soapweed yucca · Curve-leaf yucca · Moundlily yucca · Mojave yucca · Schott's yucca · Torrey's yucca
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Yucca filamentosa 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
