262 



YUCCA. 



a dense tuft. North America. 



Borders, in very sandy soil, or the drier 

 parts of the artificial bog. Seed. 



Yucca aloifolia (Aloe-leaved F.) A 

 fine kind, usually grown in the green- 

 house, but hardy, at least in the 

 warmer parts of the country ; 2 to 

 nearly 10 ft. high. Flowers, in au- 

 tumn ; white, with a purplish spot at 

 the base, becoming afterwards slightly 

 tinged with violet on the middle of 

 the petals. Leaves, pale green, in a 

 dense tuft, very stiff, linear -lanceolate, 

 thick, rough and toothed at the edges. 

 There are in cultivation four varieties 

 -one with drooping leaves, one with 

 leaves streaked with rose-colour, one 

 with white and yellow leaves, and one 

 with narrow ones. Jamaica, Mexico, 



Carolina, and Florida. On warm 



rocky banks, or sunny nooks on 

 mounds, in perfectly-drained light 

 loam. Fine specimens of the varie- 

 gated varieties, kept in the conserva- 

 tory during winter, are valuable for 

 placing in the flower-garden in sum- 

 mer. This kind seeds pretty freely in 

 Southern Europe, and is easily raised 

 from seed. 



Yucca angustifolia {Narrow -leaved 

 y.) A narrow-leaved, distinctly ha- 

 bited kind, as yet but seldom seen in 

 cultivation in this country, though 

 not rare in Continental collections ; 

 6| ft. or more high. Flowers, in sum- 

 mer ; numerous,white, slightly tinged 

 with yellow. Leaves, very narrow, 

 sharp-pointed, and fringed on the 

 edges with long, silvery filaments. 



North America. Warm banks, 



open parts of rockwork, or sunny but 

 sheltered nooks on fringes of shrub- 

 beries, in sandy and well-drained soil. 

 Seed and stem-cuttings. 



Yucca filamentosa (Thready Y.} 

 Like the Flaccid Yucca, chiefly valu- 

 able from its free -flowering tendency, 

 though it has not this in a degree equal 

 to Y.jlaccida; 3 to 5 ft. high. Flowers, 



late in summer, of a yellowish white, 

 greenish at the base externally, ar- 

 ranged in a large panicle of about 200 

 blooms. Leaves, lanceolate-oblong, 

 hollowed into a very broad channel, 

 ending in a small point, erect and re- 

 curved, with very strong, twisted, 

 whitish or buff -coloured marginal 

 filaments 2| to 3| in. long, Carolina 



and Virginia. Positions and uses 



similar to those given for the Flaccid 

 Yucca. The fine variegated variety, 

 Y. filamentosa variegata, is of slow and 

 difficult growth, and when planted in 

 the open air is best placed in some 

 sunny spot on rockwork or a rocky 

 bank, in thoroughly-drained and light 

 soil. Increased by cuttings of the 

 short stem, or by division. 



Yucca flaccida (Flaccid Y.) Not an 

 imposing species, nor so valuable for 

 the effect of its foliage as other kinds, 

 but exceedingly so for its flowers, 

 which are annually produced in great 

 abundance ; 3 to 4 ft. high. Flowers, 

 in summer ; pure white. Leaves, nar- 

 row, erect, often furnished with fila- 

 ments on the edges. North America. 



The outer fringes of groups of 



Yuccas on mounds, banks, etc., as 

 isolated specimens near the walks in 

 the picturesque garden, or in the 

 larger kinds of rock-garden ; asso- 

 ciated with Tritomas, Lilies, and the 

 nobler herbaceous plants in irregular 

 groups, or in the mixed border, flower- 

 ing most profusely in good open soil. 

 Division. 



Yucca gloriosa (Adam's Needle}. 

 Perhaps the best known, and certainly 

 one of the finest, of its noble family, 

 lacking the grace of Y. recurva. but of 

 bolder port ; 3 to 7 ft. high. Flo-wers, 

 late in summer and in autumn ; large, 

 almost pure white, in an immense 

 pyramidal panicle. Leaves, numerous, 

 stiff, and pointed. There are several 

 varieties : Y. longifolia, Y. plicata, 

 Y. maculata, Y. glaucescens, and Y. 



