Adam's Needle (Yucca filamentosa)
Description
Yucca filamentosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae native to the southeastern United States from southeast Virginia south to Florida, and as far west as south and southeast Texas. They have become naturalized along the coastal plain of the Atlantic coast of the U.S. north to Long Island Sound and into areas of the lower Midwest. They are normally hardy in USDA hardiness zones of 5 to 9. Most commonly found in sandy soils, especially in beach scrub and dunes, but also in fields, barrens, and rocky slopes, though it grows well also in silt or clay soils. Its common names include Adam's needle, common yucca, Spanish bayonet, bear-grass, needle-palm, silk-grass, and spoon-leaf yucca. The species is also reportedly naturalized in France, Italy and Turkey. Usually trunkless, it is a multisuckering evergreen shrub with heads of 75 cm (30 in) long, filamentous, blue-green, strappy leaves. It is fully hardy, though in cultivation it benefits from a sheltered position away from winter winds. Y. filamentosa is readily distinguished from other yucca species by white, thready filaments along the leaf margins. Flower stems up to 3 m (10 ft) tall bear masses of pendulous cream flowers in early summer. They are pollinated by the yucca moth Tegeticula yuccasella. Other moth species also use this yucca as a host plant to lay their eggs, such as Tegeticula intermedia. Y. filamentosa is closely related to Yucca flaccida and it is possible they should be classified as a single species. The leaves, stems and roots of this plant can be used to stun fish. The Cherokee used it for this purpose.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Liliopsida
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Order: Asparagales
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Family: Asparagaceae
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Genus: Yucca
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