The Yuccas 151 



The wood is soft, vcn- porous, light brown or nearly white; its specific gravity 

 is about 0.37. It has been used for paper pulp, but is undesirable for lumber 

 and worked with great difficult}-; it is also cut into strips and used for packing 

 purposes. The Indians grind the seed into meal and bake it. 



The genus contains but one species; the name is Greek, signifying hidden 

 Yucca, referring to the nearly closed flowers. 



II. THE YUCCAS 



YUCCA [DILLENIUS] LINN^US 



HIS genus consists of about 28 species of pecuhar plants var}ang from 

 a low, almost stemless form, like the Beargrass or Adam's needle, 

 Yucca plamentosa, to tall, single-shafted trees fully 15 meters high. 

 Their branches, if any, are sparingly produced. The long, narrow 

 sword-like leaves radiate in all directions, the dead ones remaining attached to 

 the stem or branches for many years. They occur in the temperate portions of 

 North America from Mar\dand to South Dakota, south and westward to Florida, 

 Mexico and Central America ; also in the West Indies. They are commonly called 

 Spanish bayonet or Spanish dagger and many of the species are planted for 

 ornament, their large clustered flowers being very conspicuous. 



The leaves are alternate, hnear-lanceolate, firm, usually thickened toward the 

 base and concave above the middle. The flowers are in large, many-flowered 

 terminal racemes or panicles, more or less odorous, nearly white, and drooping; 

 the perianth is subglobose or bell-shaped, its divisions distinct or but very sHghtly 

 united at the base; stamens 6, hypogynous, in 2 series, their filaments free, enlarged 

 above and curved outward, shorter than the perianth; anthers short, arrow-shaped, 

 2-celled; the ovary is usually sessile, smooth, and green, 3-celled or imperfectly 

 6-celled, rarely but i -celled; style oblong or swollen; stigma unequally 6-lobcd; 

 ovules numerous in each cell. The fruit is a dehiscent capsule, or indehiscent and 

 berry-like; the seeds are numerous, more or less triangular, flattish, and usually 

 black. 



These plants are of no important economic use. The soft spongy wood has 

 been made into paper pulp and is also used to some extent for construction. The 

 fleshy fruits of many species are edible and are also fermented into an alco- 

 holic beverage. The leaf fibers are used in the manufacture of baskets and mats, 

 while the extracted fiber of- the leaves is also used, but only to a limited extent. 

 The inflorescence of some of the species is gathered by the Mexicans and used as 

 fodder for domestic animals. 



The generic name is adopted from the Carib name of one of the species, the 

 type being Yucca aloijolia Linna?us. 



Of probably 18 species occurring in our area the following are arborescent: 



