What are yuccas?
The deserts of the southwest are now radiant with breath taking colors. The drenching winter rains have fed the starved plant life and you can hardly walk without stepping on the crowded blossoms. Most people think that all these plants are cactuses but many are yuccas and the yucca is not a cactus. Yucca plants are sturdy natives of the New World. They live in the deserts, on the driest prairies and cling to life on the bare ledges of the rocky, western slopes. Yuccas share many areas with the cactus plants, but they are lily type plants and very different from the average cactus. There are about 30 different species and every species is a beauty. One is the shaggy Joshua tree that reminded the pioneers of an ancient prophet leading his people through the desert. There are several tree sized yuccas that lift towering spires of blossoms to the sky. Many shrub sized yuccas find places in the garden as prized ornamental plants and yuccas have useful qualities as well as eye appeal. The s
