Yucca thompsoniana (Beaked yucca)

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Yucca thompsoniana Trel.

Beaked yucca, Thompson’s yucca

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Liliidae	Includes lilies, orchids, and many others
Order	Asparagales	A diverse group that includes asparagus
Family	Asparagaceae	Agaves, asparagus, hyacinths, and others
Genus	Yucca	Linnaeus mistakenly derived the genus name from the Carib word for (similar-appearing) cassava, yuca
Species	thompsoniana	For Charles Henry Thompson (1870-1931)

About plant names...

Beaked yucca is a native of Texas.

Identification: Beaked yucca is a small tree 6-12′ (1.8-3.7 m) high and 6′ (1.8 m) wide, with a trunk that is sometimes branched. Leaves emerge in a spherical shape from the tips of the trunk(s), with dead leaves forming a skirt around upper portions of each trunk. The stiff leaves, narrow and swordlike, 8-24″ (20-60 cm) × ½″ (1.3 cm). Leaf edges are hard, pale yellow, often with fine teeth. Flowers are white, round to bell-shaped, on 2-3′ (60-91 cm) stalks above the leaf clusters. Seed capsules are 1-2″ (3-6 cm) long × ⅜-¾″ (1-2 cm) thick.

It is possible that the closely related Yucca ridigda is the same plant.

See the Yucca page for a comparison with other yuccas.

Online References:

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Benny Møller Jensen's Denmark site, www.bennyskaktus.dk

Chris A. Martin's site at Arizona State University

Wikimedia Commons

Chihuahuan Desert Plants

References:

Irish, Mary & Irish, Gary, Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants: A Gardener’s Guide, Timber Press, 2000, p. 265 (here called Yucca rostrada)

Yucca rostrata Engelm. ex Trel.

Yucca rostrata Engelm. ex Trel. var. linearis Trel.