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Home , Hesperaloe parviflora, Yucca, Yucca baccata, Yucca schidigera

AGAVACEAE – or CENTURY- FAMILY

Plant: (somewhat shrubby) or ; succulent or not, ; perennial Stem: somewhat woody at base : : evergreen, crowded, sometimes basal, alternate, sharp or dagger- like and tough, thick or fleshy, often tipped by spine, margins loosely fibrous; parallel veined : perfect, mostly regular (actinomorphic), petaloid tepals in 2 cycles of 3 (6-parted and bell-like), often fleshy or thick; 3 or 6 ; ovary superior or inferior, 3 fused carpels : capsules - elliptical, somewhat 6-sided, 3 or 6 locules, many black . Other: popular ornamental, had many uses for the Native Americans; previously placed in the Lily (Liliaceae) Family. Best developed in dry regions; Group Genera: 20+ genera; locally and Manfreda

WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) – usually with 6 colored tepals in 2 series of 3; leaves parallel veined, usually evergreen

Examples of Common Genera

Redflower False Yucca parviflora (Torr.) Yucca [Adam’s Needle; Spanish-Bayonet] J.M. Coult. L.

False Aloe [ Tube-] Manfreda virginica (L.) Salisb. ex Rose Joshua Engelm AGAVACEAE – AGAVE or CENTURY-PLANT FAMILY

Redflower False Yucca; (Torr.) J.M. Coult. False Aloe [Virginia Tube-Rose]; Manfreda virginica (L.) Salisb. ex Rose Aloe Yucca; L. [Broad ] Yucca; Torr. Joshua Tree; Yucca brevifolia Engelm. Adam’s Needle [Spanish-Bayonet, Yucca]; Yucca filamentosa L. Mojave Yucca; Roezl ex Ortgies Redflower False Yucca USDA Hesperaloe parviflora (Torr.) J.M. Coult. Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Friedrich Wilderness Park, Bexar County, Notes: 6 pinkish-red, mostly free tepals, on flowering stem 2 to 3 m high; leaves thick, rigid, mostly linear, strongly in-rolled, with fibrous ‘threads’; fruit a up to 3 cm, seeds dark brown to black; often cultivated; summer [V. Max Brown, 2010] False Aloe USDA [Virginia Tube- Rose] Manfreda virginica (L.) Salisb. ex Rose Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Winona Area, Shannon County, Notes: flower perianth a long tube with 6 shorter lobes, greenish to yellowish, turning reddish-brown; flowers in a interrupted spike on very long (1-2 m) scape, scape glabrous; leaves lanceolate, in a basal rosette; often in oak woods; summer [V. Max Brown, 2009] Aloe Yucca USDA Yucca aloifolia L. Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Seagrove Beach, Walton County, Notes: shrub; 6 white free tepals, flower nodding, on large panicle along a high scape above leaves; rosettes of thick, thick, rigid, mostly linear and spine-tipped leaves (not ‘thready’ along margins); fruit a brown capsule with seeds; woody trunk develops from overlapping leaf rosettes; sandy areas especially along coasts, often planted; summer [V. Max Brown, 2012] Banana [Broad Leaf] Yucca USDA Yucca baccata Torr. Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Mesa Verda National Park, Notes: 6 white to cream color (some purple tints usually) free tepals to 12+ cm, on panicle along a low scape (to 1-1.5 m) within to slightly above leaves; leaves thick and fairly wide, rigid, mostly linear and spine-tipped, with fibrous ‘threads’, has a faint blue tint; , similar to Mojave Yucca; fruit large and somewhat banana shaped at maturity; spring to summer [V. Max Brown, 2017] Joshua Tree USDA Yucca brevifolia Engelm. Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Near Las Vegas, Clark County, Notes: tree-like, evergreen; 6 white free tepals, cream colored (to greenish yellow), on large panicles along a high scape above leaf rosettes; leaves of rosettes of thick, rigid, mostly linear and spine-tipped leaves (not ‘thready’ along margins); fruit a 6-celled capsule with many seeds; desert areas; spring mostly [V. Max Brown, 2014] Yucca [Adam’s Needle; USDA Spanish-Bayonet] Yucca filamentosa L. Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Notes: 6 white free tepals, flower nodding, on panicle along a high scape above leaves; leaves thick, rigid, mostly linear and spine-tipped, with fibrous ‘threads’; sandy areas especially, often planted; summer [V. Max Brown, 2004] Mojave Yucca USDA Yucca schidigera Roezl ex Ortgies Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family) Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Clarke County, Nevada Notes: shrub-like, evergreen; 6 white (creamy) free tepals often tinged with purple, flowers nodding, on large panicle along a high scape above leaves; leaves yellow- to blue-green, thick, rigid, mostly linear and spine-tipped, with fibrous ‘threads’; plant usually up to 2 m but may reach 5+ m; fruit fleshy with many seeds; desert areas; summer [V. Max Brown, 2014]