Bailey &: Bailey: Woody Plants of National Parks 



37 



3. Chaparrel YaccA, Quixote Plant (Yucca 

 Whipplei Torr.). — Leaves narrow, about 1 to 1% feet 

 long; flowering stalk 6 to 12 feet high; flowers creamy 

 white, II/4 to 11/2 inches long; capsule oblong or nearly 

 round (globose), II/4 to 2 inches long. After the fruit 

 matures the whole plant dies and new plants may arise 

 from the base. 



Occurrence. — SEQUOIA, occasional on limestone formations 

 in chaparral belts: near Ash Mountain. 



Amaryllis Family (Amaryllidaceae) 



Mescal, Maguey {Agave utahensis Engelm.), fig. 

 8. — Erect, thick-stemmed plants; leaves borne in basal 

 cluster, thick, fleshy, 6 to 12 inches long, the margins 

 armed with white spine-tipped teeth; flowering stalks 

 mostly 6 to 15 feet tall, arising from the center of the 

 leaf cluster; flowers yellow, about 1 inch long, borne in 

 several-flowered clusters along the upper part of the 

 flowering stalk; petals (perianth segments) 6, borne at 

 the top of the ovary which develops into the fruit; cap- 

 sules light brown, 1 to II/2 inches long; seeds many, 

 flattened, black. 



It usually takes fifteen or more years for the Agave 

 plant to develop to the flowering stage. The flowering 

 stalk develops rapidly, often becoming twelve or fifteen 

 feet tall. Another species of Agave known as century 

 plant is grown in Mexico for its juice from which is 

 made an intoxicating drink known as pulque. 



Occurrence. — GRAND CANYON, 2,500 to 7,000 feel. North 



Rim, rare: Cape Royal. South Rim, occasional: Desert View; 



Grandview Point. Canyon, abundant: Kaibab trail near fossil 



h]\l j fern quarry on Cedar Ridge; Tonto on both sides of the Colo- 



vVlli!'^\\VHlll//A7U rado River; near Indian Gardens; Plateau Point; Havasupai 



Indian Reservation; slopes below Indian Watch Tower. 



Willow Family (Salicaceae) 

 Willow (Salix L.) 



Fig. 8. Mescal (Agave 



ulahensis). There are many shrubby species of willow in the 



western national parks, as well as tree species which 

 often become shrubby in form. Willows grow commonly along streams, but 

 many of the shrubby species are found on open slopes or in moist meadows, 

 often forming thickets. Tiny prostrate alpine forms inhabit alpine meadows 

 or rocky slopes above timberline where they may be only a few inches high. 

 These are easily recognized as willows, however, by their characteristic leaves 

 and catkins. 



M 



