Stats

Lifespan

150-500 yrs

Size

Large

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Desert

Range

North America

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Spines

Status

G3

About

A slow-growing yucca of the Mojave Desert with a stout, fibrous trunk that forks into branches tipped by dense rosettes of stiff, dagger-like leaves. Pollinated by a single species of yucca moth that lays its eggs only in the tree's creamy spring blossoms.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Liliopsida

Order

Asparagales

Family

Asparagaceae

Genus

Yucca

Species

Yucca brevifolia