Yucca

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 hot and dry (arid) parts of the Americas and the Caribbean.

Description

Early reports of the species were confused with the cassava (Manihot esculenta). Consequently, Linnaeus mistakenly derived the generic name from the Taíno word for the latter, yuca (spelled with a single "c").

Distribution and habitat

The natural distribution range of the genus Yucca (49 species and 24 subspecies) covers a vast area of the Americas. The genus is represented throughout Mexico and extends into Guatemala (Yucca guatemalensis). It also extends to the north through Baja California in the west, up to the southwestern United States, through the drier central states as far north as southern Alberta in Canada (Yucca glauca ssp. albertana).

Uses

Yucca species are the host plants for the caterpillars of the yucca giant-skipper (Megathymus yuccae), the Yucca skipper (Megathymus cofaqui), and the Strecker's Giant-Skipper (Megathymus streckeri). Species of yucca have adapted to a wide variety of climates in mountains, coastal sand, grasslands and prairies as well as rocky badlands and deserts.

See also

• List of Yucca species
• Agavaceae
• Asparagaceae

References

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External links

• Yucca species and their propagation
• Yucca about in the wild and in gardening

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