Yucca glauca (syn. Yucca angustifolia) is a species of perennial evergreen plant, adapted to xeric (dry) growth conditions. It is also known as small soapweed,[ soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet,][Schiemann, Donald Anthony. Wildflowers of Montana. page 140. Mountain Press Publishing Company. Missoula. 2005.] and Great Plains yucca.
Yucca glauca forms colonies of rosettes. Leaves are long and narrow, up to 60 cm long but rarely more than 12 mm across. Inflorescence is up to 100 cm tall, sometimes branched sometimes not. Flowers are pendent (drooping, hanging downward), white to very pale green. Fruit is a dry capsule with shiny black seeds.[ Flora of North America v 26 p 437, Yucca glauca][Nuttall, Thomas. 1813. Catalogue of New and Interesting Plants Collected in Upper Louisiana no. 89.]
Distribution
Yucca glauca is native to central North America: occurring from the of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada; south through the Great Plains to Texas and New Mexico in the United States.
Pollinators
The "honey ant" ( Myrmecocystus mexicanus), among other species, has been observed collecting nectar from Y. glauca.[Conway, John R. "The Biology of Honey Ants." The American Biology Teacher. , Vol. 48, No. 6 (Sep., 1986), pp. 335–343.]
Yucca species are dependent on pollination by yucca moths, species in the genus Tegeticula and genus Parategeticula. In turn the moths are dependent on yucca seeds as food for their larvae. This relationship was first scientifically observed by the botanist George Engelmann and entomologist Charles Valentine Riley in 1872 and has been the subject of many observations and experiments since then.
When the bright white yucca flowers are in bloom, the female yucca moth visits a flower and collects a bundle of pollen.
The specific species of yucca moth known to visit Yucca glauca flowers is Tegeticula yuccasella. This species is also known to visit Yucca filamentosa.
Uses
Soapweed yucca was a traditional Native American medical plant, used by the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Lakota people, and other tribes.
Among the Zuni people, the seed pods are boiled and used for food.[Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 p.73] Leaves are made into brushes and used for decorating pottery, ceremonial masks, altars and other objects.[Stevenson, p.82] Leaves are also soaked in water to soften them and made into rope by knotting them together.[Stevenson, p.79] Dried leaves are split, plaited and made into water-carrying head pads.[Bell, Willis H and Edward F. Castetter 1941 Ethnobiological Studies in the Southwest VII. The Utilization of Yucca, Sotol and Beargrass by the Aborigines in the American Southwest. University of New Mexico Bulletin 5(5):1-74 (p. 47)] Leaves are also used for making mats, cincture pads and other articles.[Stevenson, p.83]
The young flower stalks and unripe fruits can be cooked and eaten.
Yucca glauca is desirable as a landscaping plant, particularly for low water and high altitude gardens. It is an excellent choice for Xeriscaping. Not only do this hardy perennial's showy leaves make a striking display, but it is also cold hardy and drought tolerant. Its bell shaped flowers, typically cream colored, grow on tall spikes. This plant blooms in the summer. Yucca glauca is deer resistant. This plant can be propagated from seed that has been winterized, from root cuttings, and from stem cuttings. The tops of the leaves are needle sharp and must be handled with care. It is wise to plant them away from areas that are commonly traversed.
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