''Yucca rostrata'' also called beaked yucca, is a tree-like plant belonging to the genus '' Yucca''. The species is native to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, and the Chihuahua and Coahuila regions of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. This species of ''Yucca'' occurs in areas that are arid with little annual rainfall, normally Bw climates (desert) and Bs climates (steppe or semiarid)."Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them", p 941. Könemann, 2004. Trelease, William. 1902. Annual Report of the Missouri Botanical Garden 13: 68, plates 40–42, plate 84, fig. 3, plate 93, fig. 2. ''Yucca rostrata''
/ref> ''Yucca rostrata'' has a trunk up to 4.5 meters tall, with a crown of leaves at the top. Leaves are thin, stiff, up to 60 cm long but rarely more than 15 mm wide, tapering to a sharp point at the tip. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

is a large panicle 100 cm tall, with white flowers.

Cultivation

left, ''Yucca rostrata''- inflorescence As one of the hardiest trunk-forming yuccas, ''Yucca rostrata'' can be grown successfully outdoors down to USDA hardiness zone 5 and is popular in many desert cities such as Palm Springs, CA, Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV, in the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. The tree-like plant is also commonly cultivated in garden zones 7 and 8 in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

, and

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. More recently, Yucca rostrata is being used in beach landscaping in coastal zone 7 and 8 areas of the East Coast, and can be found in coastal

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Virginia Beach, VA, Ocean City, MD, and on Long Island, NY and coastal Connecticut. In Southern Europe, ''Yucca rostrata'' is cultivated in the subtropical

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

region, including in southern

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Rostrata is also cultivated in smaller numbers north into temperate Europe in the UK, Germany, and other areas. In European (away from the drier climates around the Mediterranean Sea) cultivation is often more difficult due to cool summers and frequent wet conditions found in these areas. However, many people in the cooler and wetter parts of Northwest Europe cover Yucca rostrata in winter to keep moisture off the plant. Yucca rostrata is also popular in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and is on occasion used as a specimen plant in home landscapes. Beaked yucca - trunk

Cultivars

* 'Sapphire Skies' has powder blue

foliage A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, f ...

.Mobnrovia Horticultural Craftsmen, Azusa California, Sapphire Skies Beaked Blue Yucca
/ref>

References

* Fritz Hochstätter (Hrsg.): '' Yucca (Agavaceae). Band 1 Dehiscent-fruited species in the Southwest and Midwest of the USA, Canada and Baja California '', Selbst Verlag, 2000. * Fritz Hochstätter (Hrsg.): '' Yucca (Agavaceae). Band 2 Indehiscent-fruited species in the Southwest, Midwest and East of the USA'', Selbst Verlag. 2002. * Fritz Hochstätter (Hrsg.): '' Yucca (Agavaceae). Band 3 Mexico '', Selbst Verlag, 2004. * Di

Fritz Hochstätter * Yucca

Verbreitungskarte I Fritz Hochstätter

External links

Yucca rostrata care

Interactive Distribution Map of ''Yucca rostrata''photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, type of ''Yucca rostrata''
Yucca, rostrata Flora of Coahuila Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of Texas Plants described in 1902 Taxa named by George Engelmann {{Asparagaceae-stub