Yucca glauca (Narrow-leaved Yucca)

Yucca glauca

Yucca glauca Nutt.

Narrow-leaved Yucca, Soapweed Yucca, Beargrass, Soapweed

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	glauca	Latin for “blue-gray”

About plant names...

Soapweed yucca is a native of North America.

Identification: Plants are up to 3' (1 m) high × 4' (1.2 m) wide. The leaves are pale green, stiff, and sword-shaped, 8-40" (20-101 cm) long and up to ⅛-⅜" (6-12 mm) wide. 15-50 bell-shaped flowers, greenish-white, with six petals, hang from a stalk 12-80" (30-203 cm) tall. The seeds are in cylindrical capsules up 1-1¾" (3-4.5 cm) long.

See the Yucca page for a comparison with other yuccas.

Online References:

Yucca glauca at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Yucca glauca on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Yucca glauca on New Mexico Enchantment

Yucca glauca on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Yucca glauca on Missouriplants.com

References:

Irish, Mary & Irish, Gary, Agaves, Yuccas and Related Plants: A Gardener’s Guide, Timber Press, 2000, p. 252

Yucca glauca description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.