Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Yucca gloriosa

Family

Asparagaceae

Flowering season

August to October

English distribution

It is found throughout the country but is most common

around Greater London and parts of the Northwest

and the Southwest.

For a map see the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland –

Spanish-dagger

Habitat

It is a neophyte introduced into the UK from the Carolinas

in the South eastern USA. It is widely grown here as an

architectural plant and has escaped into the wild and

become naturalised with a preference for maritime

habitats such as sand-dunes and gravel-pits.

Description

Spanish-dagger is an evergreen shrub growing up

to 2.5m.

The flowers are on a long branched spike (a panicle

up to 2.5m).

Flowers are creamy-white or greenish-white, bell-shaped

and up to 8cm. There are 6 tepals, 3 inner and 3 outer.

There are six stamens with small white anthers and

long white filaments.

The ovary is green and the style white and long with

3 stigmas.

The fruit is a capsule up to 8cm (not shown).

Leaves are dark green, long - up to 1m x 5cm with

a terminal sharp spine.

The trunks are thick, woody and sparsely branched.