Recycle, 6/2/08 : For some reason this particular patch is very thin this year, but I see plenty of yucca elsewhere as part of rural driveway and garden landscapes.
Yucca
Yucca
(Adam's Needle)
Yucca flaccida (?)
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Agavaceae
Genus: Yucca
Yucca genus see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yucca
All pics, June 2, 2008
Another odd flower outcrop, not so much for what it is, but where it is -- This stand flanking Interstate 40, just east of the Maumelle exit, and mixed in with all manner of grass. As a rule we think of Yucca as desert fare, but it is a common Arkansas rural mailbox planting. I am not sure if we have them in the wild, but they are a pretty common site along our roadways, be they escaped transplants ...or natural.
As is, the "stem" of the yucca leans woody (it has to be strong to support that mass of blooms.) Dead yucca leave a strong supporting "stick." This particular grouping stood tall, from 4 to 5 feet standard.
Notes:
Perhaps Yucca flaccida should be considered a variety of Y. filamentosa.
The morphological differences are minor. The former has thinner, narrower
leaves, and smaller, narrower flowers 4–5 cm long, whereas Y. filamentosa has
thick, rigid leaves and flowers 5–7 cm long.
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242102063
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1 comment:
Yucca is growing just outside the cemetery fence up at the county road. It looks as if it might have been tossed over the fence from inside the cemetery at some time in the past. Hey, yucca may not be native, but it's a lot better than the faded plastic flowers that usually get tossed over that fence.
BTW: While I may not be able to take long walks in the woods for a while, I think I know a few places to find wildflowers that are a little less hectic than Interstate roadsides. :-)
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