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Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae. 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 North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. It is also colloquially known in the Midwest United States as "Ghosts in the graveyard", as it is commonly found growing in rural graveyards and when in bloom the flowers appear as an apparition floating. Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Many species of yucca also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems, and more rarely roots. References to yucca root as food often stem from confusion with the similarly spelled but botanically unrelated yucca, also called cassava. The "yucca flower" is the state flower of New Mexico.
Yucca brevifolia is a tree-like Yucca, up to 12 m tall, with a columnar, much-branched trunk forming a weird and picturesque, open crown. The stiff, blue-green leaves, are up to 35 cm long with yellow margins. The broad flower spikes are short with a candelabra of side branches graced by 4cm bell-shaped, fragrant, creamy-white flowers.
USDA Zone - 9
Season to Sow - Spring
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