Thompson's Yucca

Yucca thompsoniana

Asparagaceae (Asparagus Family)

Big Bend Yucca, Thompson Yucca, Beaked Yucca, Soyate, Palmita, Trans-Pecos Yucca

Courtesy: Flaigg, Norman G., https://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=1702

Courtesy: Wasowski, Sally and Andy, https://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=25102

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Native Habitat: Grassland

Chihuahuan Deserts

Maintenance

If you don’t like the height, cut it off at ground level, and it will leaf out at the base again. Hard to transplant due to deep, heavy tap roots. Yuccas be grown from rhizomes, stem cuttings, or by digging offsets from the side of established plants. Adapts to any soil.

Comments

Native to the mountains of the Trans Pecos. Slow growing. Makes a good evergreen screen. The trunk is usually unbranched. The leaves are narrow and stiff and grow in a radiating mass near the top; they are 8-24 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide in the middle. The 2-3 ft. flowering stalk holds a dense panicle of white flowers slightly above the foliage.

Growth Form

Cactus & Succulent

Height

6 to

12 ft

Spread

2 to

3 ft

Soil Type(s)

Rocky, Dry

Light Requirement

Sun

Water Requirement

Low

Leaf Retention

Evergreen

Lifespan

Perennial

Bloom Color

White

Bloom Season

Spring

Seasonal Interest

Nectar, Flowers

Wildlife Benefit

Hummingbirds, Moths

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Previous Scientific Name(s): Synonym/s: Yucca rostrata, Yucca rostrata var. linearis

References

1) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=270&locationType=County&mapType=Normal 2) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=YUTH. 3) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 4) Wasowski, Sally and Wasowski, Andy, Native Texas Plants, Landscaping Region by Region, 1988, 1991, pg 265. 5), Miller, George O., Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas 2nd Ed., 2013, pg 48. 6) https://portal.torcherbaria.org/portal/taxa/index.php?taxon=Yucca+thompsoniana&formsubmit=Search+Terms, 7) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=43153#null

Native Plant Society of Texas