Carolina Nature

Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina

Adam's Needle, Bear-Grass (Yucca filamentosa)

Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Liliopsida>Liliales>Agavaceae>Yucca filamentosa L.

Yucca filamentosa, most commonly called "Yucca" instead of "Adam's Needle", grows throughout North Carolina, but is most abundant in the Coastal Plain.

Yucca is quite showy in bloom, with a terminal panicle of creamy-white flowers extending several feet above the leaves.

Robeson Co., NC 5/29/08.

Yucca filamentosa

Pender Co., NC 4/19/08.

Yucca filamentosa

Pender Co., NC 4/19/08.

Yucca filamentosa

Two other species of Yucca grow along the immediate coast, Yucca aloifolia (Aloe Yucca, Spanish Bayonet) and Yucca gloriosa (Moundlily Yucca), but Yucca filamentosa is easily distinguished from them by the twisty thread-like filaments that shred off the leaf margins (these give it the name filamentosa) and by the near lack of a trunk. Also compare with Weak-leaf Yucca (Yucca flaccida).

New Hanover Co., NC 8/30/08.

Yucca filamentosa

Moore Co., NC 4/20/05.

Yucca filamentosa

Richmond Co., NC 6/6/03.

Yucca filamentosa

Chapel Hill, NC 6/18/05.

Yucca filamentosa

Robeson Co., NC 5/29/08.

Yucca filamentosa

Robeson Co., NC 5/29/08.

More information:
Bioimages
Floridata
Wildflowers of the SE US
Virginia Tech Dendrology
Yuccaagavaceae.com

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