Yucca treculeana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yucca treculeana
1860 illustration
Scientific classification
Synonyms
Sarcoyucca treculeana (Carrière) Linding. Yucca agavoides Carrière Yucca argospatha Verl. Yucca aspera Regel Yucca baccata var. australis Engelm. Yucca canaliculata Hook. Yucca canaliculata var. pendula K. Koch Yucca contorta Carrière Yucca cornuta Baker Yucca crassifila Engelm. Yucca longifolia Buckley, nom. illeg. Yucca recurvata Carrière Yucca revoluta Carrière Yucca spinosa auct non Kunth Yucca treculeana var. canaliculata Trel. Yucca treculeana var. glauca Sprenger Yucca treculeana var. succulenta McKelvey Yucca undulata K.Koch

Yucca treculeana is a large plant that looks like a tree. It belongs to the Asparagaceae family, which includes many types of plants. This plant grows naturally in Texas, New Mexico, and Coahuila in Mexico.

People often call it by other names. These include Spanish dagger, Spanish bayonet, and Don Quixote's lance. These names come from its long, sharp leaves.

About the Spanish Dagger Plant

The Yucca treculeana is a very tall plant. It can grow up to 10 meters (33 feet) high. This is about as tall as a three-story building!

It often has branches that start above the ground. This makes it look more like a tree.

What the Yucca Looks Like

The leaves of the Spanish dagger are very long. They can be up to 128 centimeters (50 inches) long. Imagine a leaf that's over a meter long!

When the plant blooms, it produces beautiful flowers. These flowers are usually cream-colored. Sometimes, they have a light purple tint.

After the flowers, the plant grows fruits. These fruits are soft and juicy. They can be quite large, growing up to 19 centimeters (7.5 inches) long.

Spanish Dagger (Yucca treculeana) growing in Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA.

Its Scientific Name

Sometimes, plants can have confusing names. For a while, some people thought this plant was called Yucca spinosa. But scientists later found out that the plant they thought was Yucca spinosa was actually a different kind of plant called Dasylirion.

Because of this mix-up, the name Yucca spinosa for this plant is now considered a "nomen confusum." This means it's a confusing name that shouldn't be used for Yucca treculeana.

See also

In Spanish: Yucca treculeana para niños