Spanish Dagger (Yucca torreyi)

   
 

Overview and flowers of Spanish Dagger. Photographs by Wynn Anderson.

• Common Names: Spanish Dagger, Torrey Yucca, Shaggy Yucca
• Common Spanish Names: Palma de San Juan
• Scientific Name: Yucca torreyi
• Family: Asparagaceae (formerly Agavaceae) (Asparagus Family)
• Geographic Range: Southern New Mexico, across Trans-Pecos to Edwards Plateau of Texas, south into northeastern Chihuahua and western Coahuila, Mexico.
• Description: Slender, upright (6 to 12'), sometimes branching, arborescent (tree-like) plant with broad pale to yellowish-green leaves with multiple sharp-pointed, blade-like leaves unevenly radiating from crown(s) on one or more the thick semi-succulent trunk(s). Dried leaves not evenly reflexed but persist irregularly outward, presenting a "shaggy" untidy skirt.
• Landscape Usage: Accent plant in desert landscapes. Need full sun, good drainage. Shallow, radiating root system is conducive to transplanting, but only seed-grown plants or wild plants salvaged from eminent destruction by development activities should be used.
• Note: Yucca torreyi appears to grade into and is replaced by Yucca treculeana in the northeastern portion of the Chihuahuan Desert. Many botanists now combine the two plants into one single species as Yucca treculeana.

Last Update: 25 Aug 2013