Vegetation Around Las Vegas, Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata)

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Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata)
Yuccas Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas

Tall, green Mojave Yucca and short, blue, Banana Yucca

Banana Yucca (Yucca baccata) is an upright shrub with long, sword-like leaves that generally point upward. The leaves are folded to create a channel that catches rain and snow, channeling the water towards the base of the plant. The leaf margins have shredding fibers, and the leaf is tipped with a sharp spine.

Banana Yucca is a signature species of the Mojave Desert and is a major component of vegetation communities on dry, well drained gravel and rocky soils at lower elevations in the Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub and Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) life zone.

Family: Agave (Agavaceae).

Other Names: Blue Yucca.

Plant Form: Low growing, but upright shrub with a trunk that usually lies along the ground.

Height: To 4-5 feet

Trunk: Stout trunk usually remaining low or lying on the ground. Compared to Mojave Yucca, Banana Yucca is said to have no trunk, which is not strictly true.

Leaves: Very long daggers with a sharp tip; dull gray-green color.

Flowers: Large, thick, hang down.

Seeds: Produced in large, banana-like pods

Elevation: About 2,500 to 4,500 feet (tolerance range extends higher than Mojave Yucca)

Comments: Yucca leaves can be pounded to remove the pulp, leaving behind a stout spine with long fibers attached. Native peoples used these fibers for sewing and for making fiber mats and sandals.





Banana Yucca developing flower stalk	Banana Yucca developing flower stalk
Banana Yucca developing flower stalk	Banana Yucca developing flower stalk
Banana Yucca developing flower stalk	Banana Yucca flower buds
Banana Yucca flower buds	Banana Yucca with developing flowers
Banana Yucca with developing flowers	Banana Yucca developing flowers
Banana Yucca developing flowers	Banana Yucca with flowers
Banana Yucca with flowers	Banana Yucca flowers
Banana Yucca flowers	Banana Yucca flowers and buds
Banana Yucca flowers and buds	Single Banana Yucca flower
Single Banana Yucca flower	Single Banana Yucca flower with three outer "petals" removed
Single Banana Yucca flower with three outer "petals" removed	Three outer "petals" and one inner "petal" removed
Inner "petal" with stamen	Petals removed revealing three of six stamens and three-lobed pistil
Three-lobed stigma	Three-lobed stigma
Cross-section of banana yucca pistil showing ovules	Cross-section of banana yucca pistil showing ovules
Banana Yucca with fruits	Banana Yucca with fruits
Banana Yucca developing fruit	Banana Yucca developing fruit
Banana Yucca ripening fruit	Banana Yucca ripening fruit
Broken Banana Yucca fruit with exposed seeds	Banana Yucca seeds
During the mega-drought, many Banana Yucca flowers failed	Failed Banana Yucca flowers
During the mega-drought, many Banana Yucca flowers failed	During the mega-drought, many Banana Yucca flowers failed
Leaf with channel that catches water and funnels it towards roots	Leaf with channel that catches water and funnels it towards roots
Leaf with channel that catches water and funnels it towards roots	Leaf with channel that catches water and funnels it towards roots
Fibrous leaves used by native people for fibers	Fibrous leaves used by native people for fibers
Fibrous leaves used by native people for fibers	Fibrous leaves used by native people for fibers

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
; Last updated 240630

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