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Broadleaf, evergreen shrub or small tree, with a sporadically branched trunk, very slow growing, about 1 inch (2.5 cm) per year, but it may reach a height of 4 to 15 ft (1.2 to 4.5m). It is considered very ornamental. Leaves are collected in a dense spiral whorl at the top of stems, each leaf is 25-95 cm long but narrow, only 0.2-1.3 cm across. Flowers are borne in a dense cluster at top a slender stem that is 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) tall, each flower is 3-6 cm long, creamy white, often tinged pink or green. The fruit is 4-8 cm long and 2-4 cm wide; when it matures in summer it is brown and splits into three sections releasing black seeds.
- Sun, dry, well-drained soil
- Like all yucca species with dehiscent fruits, soaptree yucca is rhizomatous. The species is unique in that the rhizome develops downward (to 3-5 feet [1-1.5 m] deep) and later begins lateral root extensions (U.S Forest Service).
- Hardy to USDA Zone 7 Native range from west Texas to central New Mexico and central Arizona and northern Mexico; also found in small areas of southeast Nevade, southwest Utah, and northwest Arizona. Yucca elata var. verdiensis (Verdi yucca) is a shorter form found in central Arizona, most commonly in regions of the Verde River and it's tributaries.
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plant habit, winter
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leaf
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young plant, summer flowering
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flower cluster
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flower
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old plants, Clarence A. Rechenthin, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database
