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Common Name: Yucca, Spanish Bayonet, Beargrass
Scientific Name: Yucca filamentosa
Family: Liliaceae
Serendipity Ranch
Columbus, North Carolina
June 7, 2002
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The leathery, linear, evergreen leaves of this species, usually 1-2 feet long and 1-3 inches wide, have slender filaments, or strands of fibers, along the margins. The flower stalk may be up to 6 feet tall. A conspicuous perennial that is often cultivated. Native along the Atlantic coast from New Jersey to Florida, it is found in old fields and open woodlands at scattered localities in all provinces of North Carolina. Another species of Yucca is especially plentiful in the low sandy areas behind the beach dunes of our outer coastal plain. May-June [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
Known as Spanish bayonet because of its tough, sword-shaped leaves, it is also one of several plants commonly called Beargrass. Numerous creamy white flowers, 1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter, occur on branches of the 4 to 6-foot stem in late May and June. Although widely distributed in thin, rocky soil of the lower elevations, only a few plants grow at each location. [Campbell, Carlos C., Hutson, William F., Sharp, Aaron J., Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers, Fourth Edition. The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, 1977]
Yuccas grow over much of North America, and hardiness depends on species. All have tough, sword-shaped leaves and large clusters of white or whitish, rounded to bell-shaped flowers. Some are stemless, while others reach tree size. Taller kinds make striking silhouettes, and even stemless species provide important vertical effects when in bloom. Some have stiff, sharp-pointed leaves. [Bender, Steve, Southern Living Garden Book, The. Oxmoor House, Inc., Book Division of Southern Progress Corporation, Birmingham, 1998]
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z