Bailey &. Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 



35 



for these insects. "The female moth, working at night, collects pollen from 

 one flower, then flies to another, lays her eggs in the seed-producing organ, 

 and in a manner which corresponds to actions full of purpose and deliberation 

 climbs to the style and thrusts the pollen ball down the stigmatic tube."'^ 

 The young larvae, which hatch at just about the same time that the fruits 

 are maturing, use the developing seeds for food. Hence the yuccas and 

 moths are each dependent upon the other for the perpetuation of their re- 

 spective species. Birds feed upon the fleshy fruits of the Spanish bayonet 

 and help in the distribution of the seed. 



Field Guide to the Species 



Flowering stem 1 to 3-1/2 feet high; leaves thick, concave, 1-1/2 to 2 feet long, 



3/4 to 2 inches wide; fruits fleshy, about 6 inches long, pendent 



1 . Y. baccata. 



Flowering stem 3 to 14 feet high; leaves flattish, 2/3 to 1-3/4 feet long, narrow, 

 1/3 to 2/3 inch wide; fruits dry capsules, 1-1/4 to 2 inches long, erect. 



Capsules constricted in the middle; leaves with free white marginal fibers; 



occurs in parks of the Southwest 2. V. angusiissima. 



Capules globose to reverse-egg-shaped; leaves without free marginal fibers; 



occurs in Sequoia National Park 3. Y. Whipplei. 



8 Jepson, W. L., Manual of the flowering plants of California, p. 246. 1925. 



Fig. 6. Spanish bayonet (^ ucca baccaia). 



