Yucca declinata

Sideways yucca
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Monocots
Order:Asparagales
Family:Asparagaceae
Subfamily:Agavoideae
Genus:Yucca
Species: Y. declinata
Binomial name
Yucca declinata

Yucca declinata is a species of the genus Yucca, family Asparagaceae. It is known only from the vicinity of Bacanora, in the Mexican state of Sonora. Botanist Howard Scott Gentry[1] first collected the species and mentioned it in print, noting the differences between this population and the closely related species Y. grandiflora H. S. Gentry and Y. arizonica McKelvey (sic, = Yucca baccata var. brevifolia L. D. Benson & R. A. Darrow). He did not, however, describe it as a new species. Later examination of his descriptions and his material led to the recognition of this as a new species.[2]

The epithet declinata refers to the fact that this is the only known species of Yucca in which the flowering stalk is oriented horizontally. The plant is tree-like up to 6 m tall, branching in the crown and suckering at the base. Leaves are up to 140 cm long, yellowish-green, without teeth. Flowering stalk is up to 130 cm m long, glabrous, usually perpendicular to the main stem. Flowers small, white. Fruit oblong, tapering at base, 15–20 cm long, not splitting apart when ripe. Seeds black, flat, slightly egg-shaped, 1.0-1.5 cm in diameter. The species occurs in open woodlands and scrublands on volcanic and limestone soils.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Gentry, H. S. 1972. The Agave family in Sonora. USDA Agricultural Handbook 399
  2. 1 2 Laferrière, Joseph E. (1995). "Yucca declinata: a new species from Sonora". Cactus and Succulent Journal. 67: 347–348.
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