In this edition I will be showing you some of the yucca plants that are found in Florida.
Yuccas are plants that have large basal rosettes of prominent spiky leaves with a central stalk supporting an elongated cluster of flowers. They look similar to agaves, which are in the same family, and aloe which are in their own family of Asphodelaceae. Agave and yucca have traditionally been placed in Agavaceae, the century-plant family, but have recently been reclassified into a subfamily (Agavoideae) of Asparagaceae.
The first yucca that we will look at is a Florida endangered plant of coastal dunes and swales called moundlily yucca - Yucca gloriosa.
Moundlily Yucca on the St. Joseph's Bay side of Cape San Blas in St. Joseph Peninsula State Park
I photographed this plant in T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park while kayaking in St. Joseph Bay. The moundlily yucca was near the shore on the bay side of Cape San Blas.
Moundlily yucca flowers
When I saw this plant I at first thought that it was Spanish bayonet, the next yucca that we will see.
Spanish bayonet - Yucca aloifolia - can be found in much of Florida, mostly in coastal strands, but also in sandhills.
Spanish bayonet plant
The common name is very appropriate as I have found that it is very easy to get stabbed by the sharp leaf tips, to the point of drawing blood if doing anything near this plant.
Spanish bayonet flowers
When blooming, the flowers attract many pollinators, such as the beetles in the next photo.
Beetles in Spanish bayonet flower
More on another pollinator later.
The next two yuccas share a common trait in that they have fibrous threads extending off of the sides of the leaves.
Yucca filamentosa showing the specific namesake filaments
The scientific name Yucca filamentosa references this characteristic.
Adam's needle flowers
Adam's needle is the most common and widespread of the Florida yuccas. Found mainly in sandhills and dry bluff forests throughout all except the southern tip of the state.
Weak-leaf yucca has only recently been recognized as a separate species from Yucca filamentosa.
Weak-leaf yucca leaves
Yucca flaccida has shorter filaments than Adam's needle. The filaments of weak-leaf yucca are typically not over 1-1/2 inces long, while Y. filamentosa can have fibers reaching nearly 8 inches long.
Yucca plants have a symbiotic relationship with the yucca moth. To help assure that the yucca fruit will develop to feed their larvae, the female will visit a flower and collect pollen under her 'chin', then visit another flower where she will lay her eggs in the ovary of the flower, then deposit the pollen on the stigma of the flower to intentionally pollinate it. When the yucca fruit matures it feeds the larvae that hatched from the moth's eggs.
Yucca moth on yucca flower model
This yucca moth photograph is of a larger than life-sized model of a yucca moth and flower that were made of plant material including palm fiber, horse chestnut, driftwood, iris fruit and buckeyes. The model was part of the 2023 holiday model train exhibit at the US Botanical Garden at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
There are also two non-native yuccas that are usually only found in landscapes - Yucca gigantea and Yucca guatemalensis - which are sometimes considered synonyms for each other and share the common name spineless yucca.
Note that clicking on any of the images in the newsletter above will take you to the Wild Florida Photo website page for that subject where you will find more photos and information.
Paul Rebmann Nature Photography/Wild Florida Photo will be at Backyard Biodiversity Day this Saturday, Oct. 18 from 9am to 3pm at Winter Park's Mead Gardens.
Backyard Biodiversity Day is an annual event hosted by the Tarflower Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society that includes an extensive native plant sale, informative speakers, guided walks and many information and vendor booths.
For details on these and other events, visit the Wild Florida Photo events page.
The latest model phone cases are now available with images from Paul Rebmann Nature Photography at paul-rebmann.pixels.com
Moundlily Yucca Flowers on an iPhone 17 case
Thank you, and I hope that you enjoy my photography.
Paul Rebmann
Wild Florida Photo
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