Yucca aloifolia

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Spanish bayonet
Yucca-aloifolia-20071002-2.jpg
Yucca aloifolia, cultivated, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
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. aloifolia
Binomial name
Yucca aloifolia
L.
Synonyms [2] [3]
  • Dracaena lenneanaRegel
  • Sarcoyucca aloifolia(L.) Lindinger
  • Yucca aloifolia var. arcuata(Haw.) Trel.
  • Yucca aloifolia f. arcuata(Haw.) Voss
  • Yucca aloifolia var. conspicua(Haw.) Engelm.
  • Yucca aloifolia f. conspicua(Haw.) Engelm.
  • Yucca aloifolia f. crenulata(Haw.) Voss
  • Yucca aloifolia var. draconis(L.) Engelm.
  • Yucca aloifolia f. draconis(L.) Voss
  • Yucca aloifolia var. flexifoliaJ.Bommer
  • Yucca aloifolia var. giganteaSprenger
  • Yucca aloifolia var. marginataJ.Bommer
  • Yucca aloifolia var. menandiTrel.
  • Yucca aloifolia var. purpureaBaker
  • Yucca aloifolia var. quadricolor-variegataCarrière
  • Yucca aloifolia var. roseomarginataRegel
  • Yucca aloifolia var. serratifoliaSprenger
  • Yucca aloifolia var. stenophyllaJ.Bommer
  • Yucca aloifolia var. tenuifolia(Haw.) Trel.
  • Yucca aloifolia f. tenuifolia(Haw.) Voss
  • Yucca aloifolia f. tenuifolia(Haw.) Trel.
  • Yucca aloifolia var. tricolorJ.Bommer
  • Yucca aloifolia var. variegataNaudin
  • Yucca aloifolia var. versicolorCarrière
  • Yucca aloifolia var. yucatana(Engelm) Trel.
  • Yucca arcuata Haw.
  • Yucca atkinsiiBaker
  • Yucca conspicuaHaw.
  • Yucca crenulataHaw.
  • Yucca draconisL.
  • Yucca haruckerianaCrantz
  • Yucca parmentieriCarrière
  • Yucca jacksoniiE.J.Whalen
  • Yucca purpureaBaker
  • Yucca quadricolorBaker
  • Yucca serrulata Haw.
  • Yucca striataauct.
  • Yucca tenuifoliaHaw.
  • Yucca tricolorBaker
  • Yucca yucatana Engelm.

Yucca aloifolia [4] is the type species for the genus Yucca . Common names include aloe yucca, [5] dagger plant, [6] and Spanish bayonet. It grows in sandy soils, especially on sand dunes along the coast.

Contents

Range

Yucca aloifolia is native to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the United States from southern Virginia south to Florida and west to the Texas Gulf Coast, to Mexico along the Yucatán coast, and to Bermuda, and parts of the Caribbean. Normally, Yucca aloifolia is grown in USDA zones 8 through 11. It is a popular landscape plant in beach areas along the lower East Coast from Virginia to Florida.

Yucca aloifolia has become naturalized in Bahamas, Argentina, Uruguay, Italy, Pakistan, South Africa, Queensland, New South Wales, and Mauritania. It is common in gardens and parks of the Iberian Peninsula (Portugal and Spain). [7]

Description

Yucca aloifolia has an erect trunk, 3–5 in (7.6–12.7 cm) in diameter, reaching up to 5–20 ft (1.5–6.1 m) tall before it becomes top heavy and topples over. When this occurs, the tip turns upward and keeps on growing. The trunk is armed with sharp pointed straplike leaves with fine-toothed edges, each about 2 ft (0.61 m) long. The young leaves near the growing tip stand erect; older ones are reflexed downward, and the oldest wither and turn brown, hanging around the lower trunk like a Hawaiian skirt. Eventually the tip of the trunk develops a 2 ft (0.61 m) long spike of white, purplish-tinged flowers, each blossom about 4 in (12.7 cm) across. After flowering, the trunk stops growing, but one or more lateral buds are soon formed, and the uppermost becomes a new terminal shoot. Yucca aloifolia also produces new buds, or offshoots, near the base of the trunk, forming the typical thicket often observed in dry sandy and scrub beach areas of the southeastern United States. [6] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Yucca aloifolia flowers are white and showy, sometimes tinged purplish, so that the plant is popular as an ornamental. Fruits are elongated, fleshy, up to 5 cm long. It is widely planted in hot climates and arid environments. [6] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

Uses

The fruit is eaten by both birds and humans, and the flowers can be eaten cooked or raw. [18]

Yucca aloifolia's roots can be used as soap and shampoo. [19]

Related Research Articles

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

Yucca elata is a perennial plant, with common names that include soaptree, soaptree yucca, soapweed, and palmella. It is native to southwestern North America, in the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the United States, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northern Mexico. Yucca elata is widely distributed, although its population appears to be decreasing.

<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>Echinodorus subalatus</i> Species of aquatic plant

Echinodorus subalatus is a species of aquatic plants in the Alismataceae. It is native to Cuba, Mexico, Central America, Guyana, Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. It is found naturally growing in mud by the side of streams.

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

Yucca gloriosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to the southeastern United States. Growing to 2.5 m (8 ft), it is an evergreen shrub. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental for its architectural qualities, and has reportedly become established in warmer climates in the wild in various parts of the world.

<i>Allium cernuum</i> Species of flowering plant

Allium cernuum, known as nodding onion or lady's leek, is a perennial plant in the genus Allium. It grows in open areas in North America.

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

Yucca gigantea is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family, native to Mexico and Central America. Growing up to 8–12 m (26–39 ft) in height, it is an evergreen shrub which is widely cultivated as an ornamental garden or house plant, often referred to simply as yucca cane. The edible flower is the national flower of El Salvador locally called izote, and it is used extensively in Salvadoran cuisine.

<i>Tillandsia ionantha</i> Species of plant

Tillandsia ionantha, the air plant, is a species of plant in the genus Tillandsia. This species is native to Central America and Mexico. It is also reportedly naturalized in Broward County, Florida.

<i>Yucca <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> schottii</i> Species of flowering plant

Yucca × schottii is a plant species in the genus Yucca, native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and the northern parts of Sonora and Chihuahua. The common names are Schott's yucca, hoary yucca, and mountain yucca. The "×" in the name indicates that this is a nothospecies, regarded as being a natural hybrid between two other species. In this case, Yucca × schottii is believed to have originated as a hybrid between Y. baccata and Y. madrensis. Yucca × schottii is firmly established and does reproduce freely in the wild.

<i>Bouteloua hirsuta</i> Species of flowering plant

Bouteloua hirsuta, commonly known as hairy grama, is a perennial short prairie grass that is native throughout much of North America, including the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies region, as well as Mexico and Guatemala.

Smilax moranensis is a plant species in the family Smilacaceae. It is native to mountainous areas in Mexico from Sonora and Chihuahua south to Chiapas.

<i>Yucca lacandonica</i> Species of epiphyte

Yucca lacandonica is a plant species in the yucca genus with the common name "tropical yucca." It is native to Belize and to southern Mexico, the states of Chiapas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, Campeche, and Yucatán. It is uniquely the only epiphytic species in the genus, although it has been reported to grow terrestrially as well.

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

Yucca thompsoniana, the Thompson's yucca, is a plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Texas, Chihuahua and Coahuila. Other names for the plant include Beaked yucca, Soyate and Palmita.

Trixis inula, the tropical threefold, is a plant species native to Texas, Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the West Indies. It is found on open, sandy sites such as roadsides, thorn scrub, thickets, etc.

<i>Celtis ehrenbergiana</i> Species of flowering plant

Celtis ehrenbergiana, called the desert hackberry or spiny hackberry, is a plant species that has long been called C. pallida by many authors, including in the "Flora of North America" database. It is native to Arizona, Florida, New Mexico and Texas, and to Latin America as far south as central Argentina. It grows in dry locations such as deserts, brushlands, canyons, mesas and grasslands.

<i>Ardisia escallonioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Ardisia escallonioides, the Island marlberry, is a plant species native to the West Indies and neighboring areas. It has been reported from Barbados, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Florida.

Cyathea holdridgeana, synonym Cyathea albomarginata, is a species of tree fern native to Panamá and Costa Rica. It grows in wet forests at elevations of 2400–2800 m, considerably higher than most other tree ferns of Central America.

Iresine heterophylla, or Standley's bloodleaf, is a plant species native to the southwestern United States and also to Mexico. It has been collected from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Chihuahua, Sonora, Durango, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Campeche and Tabasco.

<i>Bouvardia ternifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Bouvardia ternifolia, the firecracker bush, is a shrub widespread across much of Mexico, the range extending south into Honduras and north into the southwestern United States.

<i>Lennoa</i> Genus of plants

Lennoa is a monotypic genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Boraginaceae. It only contains one known species, Lennoa madreporoidesLex. It is within the subfamily of Lennoaceae.

References

  1. Solano, E.; Puente, R.; Ayala-Hernández, M.M.; Hodgson, W.; Clary, K.; Salywon, A. (2021). "Yucca aloifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2021: e.T117422548A117469927. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-1.RLTS.T117422548A117469927.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Tropicos
  3. The Plant List
  4. Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 1: 319. 1753.
  5. USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Yucca aloifolia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Flora of North America vol. 26, p. 429. 2006.
  7. López, Ginés (2007). Guía de los árboles y arbustos de la Península Ibérica y Baleares, 3rd edition (in Spanish).
  8. CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City.
  9. ORSTOM. 1988. List of Vascular Plants of Gabon with Synonymy, Herbier National du Gabon, Yaounde
  10. Nanwal, H, M Hameed, T Nawaz, MSA Ahmad, A Younis. 2012. Structural adaptations for adaptability in some exotic and naturalized species of Agavaceae. Pakistani Journal of Botany 44 (special issue):129.134.
  11. Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, Yucca aloifolia
  12. Altervista Flora Italiana, Jucca
  13. Davidse, G., M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater. 1994. Alismataceae a Cyperaceae. 6: i–xvi, 1–543. In G. Davidse, M. Sousa Sánchez & A.O. Chater (eds.) Flora Mesoamericana. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D. F.
  14. Whalen, E.E. 1902. Killarney Gardening Newsletter 14(May):19-23
  15. Wunderlin, R. P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida i–x, 1–806. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
  16. Radford, A. E., H. E. Ahles & C. R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas i–lxi, 1–1183. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
  17. Long, R. W. & O. K. Lakela. 1971. Flora of Tropical Florida: A Manual of the Seed Plants and Ferns of Southern Peninsular Florida i–xvii, 1–962. University of Miami Press, Coral Cables
  18. Little, Elbert L. (1980). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region. New York: Knopf. p. 317. ISBN   0-394-50760-6.
  19. "Useful Plants | Practical Survivor".