''Yucca flaccida'', commonly called Adam's needle or weak-leaf yucca, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the asparagus

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae (), known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, '' Asparagus officinalis''. This family includes both ...

). It is

native Native may refer to: People * '' Jus sanguinis'', nationality by blood * '' Jus soli'', nationality by location of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Nat ...

to south-central and southeastern North America, from the lower Great Plains eastward to the Atlantic seaboard in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, south through

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the Gulf states. Its natural habitat is in sandy open woodlands and fields. It is not considered to be threatened by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

Description

It is a stemless

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

growing to tall by broad. It has a basal rosette of sharply pointed, swordlike leaves up to long. In summer, long panicles of bell-shaped creamy white flowers are held above the foliage. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''flaccida'' means "weak", "feeble", referring to the leaves which often fold under their own weight (the inner leaves may remain erect as they are supported by the outer ones).

Taxonomy

Some authorities regard ''Y. flaccida'' as a

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form may also refer to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter dat ...

of '' Y. filamentosa'', rather than as a separate species. Populations in the

South Central Region In Vietnam, South Central Coast () and South Central Region () are two terms which can refer to the same region or two regions that do not correspond to each other. South Central Coast (sometimes called "South Central Region") consists of the i ...

of the United States with unusually narrow leaves have been segregated as ''Y. louisianensis'' by some authorities. This entity is found in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Ecology

A number of yucca moths lay their eggs upon ''Y. flaccida'' as a host plant, an example being ''

Tegeticula intermedia ''Tegeticula intermedia'' is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. Along with other moth species, it is commonly known as a yucca moth. ''T. intermedia'' lives in North America, particularly the United States. The moth resides in the southwest, the Gr ...

''.

Cultivation

It is cultivated and valued as an architectural plant. Numerous

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

are available, some with variegated leaves, of which 'Golden Sword' and 'Ivory' have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

. File:Yucca flaccida Alabama.jpg, ''Yucca flaccida'' can be identified by its pubescent inflorescence branches File:Yucca louisianensis.jpg, Western populations have unusually narrow leaves, and are sometimes treated as a separate species called ''Y. louisianensis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2237972 flaccida Flora of Eastern Canada Plants described in 1819 Flora of the Eastern United States