Yucca glauca

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Great Plains yucca
Yucca glauca by Nick.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Yucca
Species:
Y. glauca
Binomial name
Yucca glauca
Synonyms [2]
  • Yucca angustifoliaPursh.
  • Yucca glauca var. gurneyiMcKelvey
  • Yucca glauca subsp. stricta(Sims) Hochstätter
  • Yucca stenophyllaSteud.
  • Yucca strictaSims

Yucca glauca (syn. Yucca angustifolia) is a species of perennial evergreen plant, adapted to xeric (dry) growth conditions. It is also known as small soapweed, [3] soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet, [4] and Great Plains yucca.

Contents

Yucca glauca forms colonies of rosettes. Leaves are long and narrow, up to 60 cm long but rarely more than 12 mm across. Inflorescence is up to 100 cm tall, sometimes branched sometimes not. Flowers are pendent (drooping, hanging downward), white to very pale green. Fruit is a dry capsule with shiny black seeds. [5] [6]

Distribution

Yucca glauca is native to central North America: occurring from the Canadian Prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada; south through the Great Plains to Texas and New Mexico in the United States. [7] [8]

Pollinators

The "honey ant" ( Myrmecocystus mexicanus ), among other species, has been observed collecting nectar from Y. glauca. [9]

Yucca species are dependent on pollination by yucca moths, species in the genus Tegeticula and genus Parategeticula . In turn the moths are dependent on yucca seeds as food for their larvae. This relationship was first scientifically observed by the botanist George Engelmann and entomologist Charles Valentine Riley in 1872 and has been the subject of many observations and experiments since then. [10]

When the bright white yucca flowers are in bloom, the female yucca moth visits a flower and collects a bundle of pollen. [11] Though it is in the best interest of the plant that she ten leave to visit another plant, around two thirds of the time she visits a flower on the same inflorescence or even the same flower with the pollen collected when observed on Yucca filamentosa . [12] Female yucca moths can smell if another moth has visited a bloom and prefer ones that have not been visited. This behavior is influenced by the plant because when moths lay too many eggs in a flower's ovary, the plant will abort the pod killing the moth's young. [11] When a female lays eggs in the ovary of the flower, she then immediately climbs to the stigma and fertilizes the flower with pollen gathered previously to ensure food for her larvae. [13] If this exhausts her load of pollen she then goes to gather more before moving on again to investigate more flowers as potential sites to lay more eggs. [12]

The specific species of yucca moth known to visit Yucca glauca flowers is Tegeticula yuccasella . This species is also known to visit Yucca filamentosa. [12]

Uses

Soapweed yucca was a traditional Native American medical plant, used by the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Lakota, and other tribes. [3]

Among the Zuni people, the seed pods are boiled and used for food. [14] Leaves are made into brushes and used for decorating pottery, ceremonial masks, altars and other objects. [15] Leaves are also soaked in water to soften them and made into rope by knotting them together. [16] Dried leaves are split, plaited and made into water-carrying head pads. [17] Leaves are also used for making mats, cincture pads and other articles. [16] The peeled roots are pounded, made into suds and used for washing the head, wool garments and blankets. [18]

The young flower stalks and unripe fruits can be cooked and eaten. [19]

Yucca glauca is desirable as a landscaping plant, particularly for low water and high altitude gardens. It is an excellent choice for Xeriscaping. Not only do this hardy perennial's showy leaves make a striking display, but it is also cold hardy and drought tolerant. Its bell shaped flowers, typically cream colored, grow on tall spikes. This plant blooms in the summer. Yucca glauca is deer resistant. This plant can be propagated from seed that has been winterized, from root cuttings, and from stem cuttings. The tops of the leaves are needle sharp and must be handled with care. It is wise to plant them away from areas that are commonly traversed. [20] [21]

Related Research Articles

<i>Yucca</i> Genus of flowering plants belonging to the agave and Joshua tree subfamily

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the Americas and the Caribbean in a wide range of habitats, from humid rainforest and wet subtropical ecosystems to the hot and dry (arid) deserts and savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollinator</span> Animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma

A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.

The Prodoxidae are a family of moths, generally small in size and nondescript in appearance. They include species of moderate pest status, such as the currant shoot borer, and others of considerable ecological and evolutionary interest, such as various species of "yucca moths".

<i>Hesperoyucca whipplei</i> Species of flowering plant of the Hesperoyucca genus endemic to California and Baja California

Hesperoyucca whipplei, the chaparral yucca, our Lord's candle, Spanish bayonet, Quixote yucca or foothill yucca, is a species of flowering plant closely related to, and formerly usually included in, the genus Yucca. It is native to southwest communities of North America.

<i>Yucca filamentosa</i> Species of flowering plant

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 tall, it is an evergreen shrub valued in horticulture.

<i>Amaranthus cruentus</i> Species of flowering plant

Amaranthus cruentus is a flowering plant species that is native from Central Mexico to Nicaragua. It yields a nutritious staple amaranth grain, being one of three Amaranthus species cultivated as a grain source, the other two being Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus caudatus. It has several common names, including blood amaranth, red amaranth, purple amaranth, prince's feather, and Mexican grain amaranth.

<i>Filipendula rubra</i> Species of flowering plant

Filipendula rubra, also known as queen-of-the-prairie, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae native to the northeastern and central United States and southeastern Canada. It prefers full sun or partial shade and moist soil, but tolerates drier soil in a shadier location. It grows tall and firm, and produces blooms that are tiny and pink above its ferny, pointy leaves.

<i>Juniperus monosperma</i> Species of conifer

Juniperus monosperma, the New Mexico juniper or one-seed juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, western Oklahoma (Panhandle), and western Texas, and in Mexico in the extreme north of Chihuahua. It grows at 970–2300 m altitude.

<i>Tegeticula yuccasella</i> Species of moth

Tegeticula yuccasella, the yucca moth, is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. The species was first described by Charles Valentine Riley in 1872. It can be found in North America from Texas to southern Canada.

<i>Chenopodium leptophyllum</i> Species of flowering plant

Chenopodium leptophyllum is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae known by the common name narrowleaf goosefoot.

<i>Mirabilis multiflora</i> Western North American species of four-oclock

Mirabilis multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the four o'clock family known by the common names Colorado four-o'clock or desert four-o'clock that is native to the southwestern United States from California to Colorado and Texas, as well as far northern Mexico, where it grows in mostly dry habitat types in a number of regions.

<i>Yucca faxoniana</i> Species of shrub

Yucca faxoniana is a bladed evergreen shrub of the genus Yucca. It is known by the common names Faxon yucca,Spanish dagger, and giant dagger.

<i>Agave virginica</i> Species of flowering plant

Agave virginica, synonym Manfreda virginica, commonly known as the false aloe, rattlesnake master, American aloe, Virginia agave, and eastern agave, is a species of agave. It is native to the central and southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico, where it is found in prairies, upland rocky glades, and sandy open woods.

<i>Lycium pallidum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lycium pallidum is a species of flowering plant in the nightshade family known by the common names pale wolfberry and pale desert-thorn. It is native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. In Mexico it can be found in Sonora, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosi. In the United States it occurs from California to Texas and as far north as Utah and Colorado.

Tegeticula intermedia is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. Along with other moth species, it is commonly known as a yucca moth. T. intermedia lives in North America, particularly the United States. The moth resides in the southwest, the Great Plains, the Southeast, and mid-Atlantic. It also has been found much farther north in regions of Canada like Ontario and Alberta. There are also notable populations present in New Mexico. Their habitats are diverse and vary in terms of climate, landscape, and other factors. The moth lives in sand dunes, forests, glades, grassland, desert, and forests from the East Coast to the Southwest. Yucca moths have developed a strong mutualism with the yucca plant, such that both depend on each other for survival. The yucca moths and yucca plants have coevolved over millions of years. However, Tegeticula intermedia differs from most yucca moths in that it exhibits cheating behavior by laying eggs without pollinating the yucca plant.

Tegeticula corruptrix is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in North America in south-western California, Arizona, New Mexico, northern Coahuila, western and southern Texas, Colorado, Alberta, the western plains of Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana.

Tegeticula cassandra is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in north-central Florida and bordering areas of Georgia. The habitat consists of open pine and pine-oak forests and open grassy areas with oak scrub.

Tegeticula antithetica is a species of moth in the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the Mojave Desert of the North American southwest, specifically southern California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and western Arizona.

<i>Yucca flaccida</i> Species of flowering plant

Yucca flaccida, commonly called Adam's needle or weak-leaf yucca, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). It is native to south-central and southeastern North America, from the lower Great Plains eastward to the Atlantic seaboard in Virginia, south through Florida and the Gulf states. Its natural habitat is in sandy open woodlands and fields. It is not considered to be threatened by the IUCN.

<i>Pachycentria glauca</i> Species of shrub in Melastomataceae family

Pachycentria glauca is a small epiphytic shrub in the Melastomataceae family. It has 2 subspecies: P. glauca subsp. glauca and P. glauca subsp. maingayi. The glauca subspecies is endemic to Borneo, the maingayi subspecies is native to Peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, perhaps Sumatra. It grows on trees, other epiphytes and rocks in partial shade. It is intimately associated with particular ant species, growing on their gardens, providing a home for them, feeding them and having its seeds dispersed by them.

References

  1. Rowe, H.; Puente, R. (2020). "Yucca glauca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2020: e.T117427973A117470057. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-1.RLTS.T117427973A117470057.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species".
  3. 1 2 "Native American Ethnobotany". University of Michigan–Dearborn . Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  4. Schiemann, Donald Anthony. Wildflowers of Montana. page 140. Mountain Press Publishing Company. Missoula. 2005.
  5. Flora of North America v 26 p 437, Yucca glauca
  6. Nuttall, Thomas. 1813. Catalogue of New and Interesting Plants Collected in Upper Louisiana no. 89.
  7. "Yucca glauca Nutt". Plants Profile. United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  8. "Yucca glauca Nutt". Native Plant Database - Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. University of Texas at Austin . Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  9. Conway, John R. "The Biology of Honey Ants."The American Biology Teacher. , Vol. 48, No. 6 (Sep., 1986), pp. 335–343.
  10. Pellmyr, Olle (2003). "Yuccas, Yucca Moths, and Coevolution: A Review". Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 90 (1): 35–55. doi:10.2307/3298524. ISSN   0026-6493. JSTOR   3298524 . Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  11. 1 2 Moisset, Beatriz. "Pollinator of the Month: Yucca Moths (Tegeticula sp.)". U.S. Forest Service. United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  12. 1 2 3 Pellmyr, Olle; Massey, Lisa K.; Hamrick, J. L.; Feist, Mary Ann (1997). "Genetic Consequences of Specialization: Yucca Moth Behavior and Self-Pollination in Yuccas". Oecologia. 109 (2): 273–278. Bibcode:1997Oecol.109..273P. doi:10.1007/s004420050083. ISSN   0029-8549. JSTOR   4221519 . Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  13. Pellmyr, Olle; Thompson, John N.; Brown, Jonathan M.; Harrison, Richard G. (1996). "Evolution of Pollination and Mutualism in the Yucca Moth Lineage". The American Naturalist. 148 (5): 827–847. doi:10.1086/285958. ISSN   0003-0147. JSTOR   2463408 . Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  14. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 p.73
  15. Stevenson, p.82
  16. 1 2 Stevenson, p.79
  17. Bell, Willis H and Edward F. Castetter 1941 Ethnobiological Studies in the Southwest VII. The Utilization of Yucca, Sotol and Beargrass by the Aborigines in the American Southwest. University of New Mexico Bulletin 5(5):1-74 (p. 47)
  18. Stevenson, p.83
  19. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 134. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.
  20. "Yucca glauca". North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox. North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  21. Dean Ravenscroft, Ph.D. (1 February 2024). "Small Soapweed Yucca (Yucca glauca) Growing & Care Guide for Gardeners". Gardeners HQ. Gardener's HQ. Retrieved 25 February 2024.