Size: 6 to 12 feet (2.5 to 3.6 m) not including the flowering stock (inflorescence); large diameter 7 to 12.5 inches (17.7 to 31.7 cm).
Growth Form:Treelike, truck measures 5 to 8 inches (12.7 to 20.3 cm) in diameter; arborescent; plants solitary or may form colonies of rosettes; plants caulescent; rosettes with 100 plus leaves; stems or main trunk 1 or more, erect, mostly without branches but may have 1 to 3 branches.
Leaves: Green or blue grey (glaucous); 8 to 24 inches (20.3 to 60.9 cm) long and about ½ inches (1.27 cm) wide, leaves narrow, stiff, smooth and margins are minutely denticulate and sometimes called horny, leaves pale yellow, leaves spine-tipped; leaves about 1/2 inches wide in or beyond the middle, leaves emerge at the top of the trunk thereby extending trunk growth.
Recorded Range: In the United States, Beaked Yucca is found only in Brewster County, Texas, northern Mexico Chihuahua and Coahuila.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Yucca rostrata; as Yucca thompsoniana.
U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.
Genus Information: In North America there are 28 species and 45 accepted taxa overall for Yucca. World wide, The Plant List includes 49 accepted species names and includes a further 196 infraspecific rank for the genus. The genus Yucca was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
In the Southwestern United States: Arizona has 8 species of Yucca, California has 3 species, Nevada has 5 species, New Mexico has 10 species, Texas has 18 species, Utah has 7 species. All data is approximate and subject to taxonomic changes.
There is 1 variety in Yucca rostrata;
Yucca rostrata var. linearis, (Brewster, County TX).
Yucca rostrata var. integra, (synonym only)
Comments: According to The Flora of North America, Yucca rostrata is restricted to Brewster County, Texas. It is closely related to Yucca thompsoniana which is perhaps just a northern variant of this species. USDA Plants Database recognizes it as Y. thompsoniana. Beaked Yucca is a handsome species that typically remains in good form without the need for pruning as with many other Yuccas. This species may be grown from root rhizomes.
Beaked Yucca was first collected in Mexico (Chihuahua) by John Bigelow in 1852 and later described by William Trelease in 1911.
The sweet oblongfruits of Yucca species, and their seeds as well are fed on by birds, deer, small mammals and nectar-feeding bats.
Special Value to Native Bees, Butterflies and Insects
Yucca's attract many butterflies, moths and insects however actually records appear absent for this species in particular. Yucca Moths of the genus Tegeticula are known to pollinate Yucca flowers. - Find out more from (BOMONA) Butterflies and Moths of North America.
Etymology:
The genus Yucca is from the Carib (Island Carib, South America) name for "manihot" or "cassava" which is a Euphorbia genus erroneously applied to the Yucca genus because of the lily-like appearance of the sword-like leaves. The genus Yucca was published by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
The species epithet "rostrata" is a reference to the shape of the fruit which has a beak-like appendage.
Ethnobotany
The fruit of many species of large members of the Yucca genus have been used as a food source, raw, roasted or dried and ground into meal. The plant leaves may also have been used as a fiber in basketry, cloth, mats, ropes and sandals.
