Dark Light
Common Yucca
Yucca filamentosa

The latin name for this makes me think of Harry Potter… filamenTOSA!

Boom! And then you’ve got a native yucca in Virginia. Most people are surprised to know yucca grows here, as I was when I first encountered this plant. And it is indeed edible!

From VNPS: Yucca fruit can be cooked and eaten after the seeds are removed; the large petals are used in salads. Yuccas depend on the Yucca Moth as their agent of pollination, and conversely, the moth larvae depend on yuccas for food.

Alternate Names: Adam’s needle and thread
Size: 4-8' tall
Family: Asparagaceae (Asparagus Family) (!)
Habitat: Dry, sandy soils and sand dunes, Full sun to partial shade
Identification: From VNPS: Distinctive with leathery, evergreen leaves in a dense rosette, this plant looks like its desert relatives. On edges of the stiff, sharply pointed leaves are fraying, twisted whitish threads, which are not usually found on other species of Yucca. During the growing season each plant will produce a spreading cluster of drooping cream-colored flowers on a 6-foot smooth stalk, followed by an oblong, pickle-like fruit. Blooms April-June
All text and photos copyright © 2022 Middle Way Nature Reserve, unless noted.
Related Posts

Yellow Coltsfoot

This is another plant for which I fell in love with the name, "Coltsfoot". Not being very familiar with the equine species, I couldn't really figure out how it got the name. Well, it turns out the leaves of the plant resemble a colt's foot.

Littleleaf Buttercup

A delicate little star shaped buttercup that you don't want to pick and hold under your chin to see if you like butter, because it's sap is toxic.