The Yucca Family
What are they?
The Yucca Family was, for many years, considered to be part of a much larger lily family (Liliaceae) but more recent research has seen the creation of a number of smaller families of plants. Members of this family are mostly not native to our region but are well-known as popular garden plants. The family includes yuccas, the somewhat similar agaves - which all have rather similar, stiff and fleshy leaves - and the plantain-lilies (Hostas).
Identification
The yuccas are all rather similar, bearing thick, fleshy leaves in a basal rosette and sending up a large, central spike of white flowers. The species in our area can be separated by careful attention to leaf shape and structure. Plantain-lilies are familiar garden plants, but many are hybrids and variegated forms and can sometimes be difficult to identify for certain - though finding them in the wild is not a common occurence.
Adam's Needle Yucca filamentosa
Although often grown as a garden plant, Adam's Needle is the one species of Yucca that is native in New Jersey, where it occurs as an occasional plant in dry, sandy soils, particularly in coastal dune areas. In Cape May County, it appears to be most common around Cape May Point, though some such plants may have originated from deliberate plantings. Flowers June to August. The stiff, sword-like leaves with curly strips peeling off their edges are distinctive.
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peeling edges |
Spanish Bayonet Yucca gloriosa
Introduced from further west in North America. A few plants survive in dunes on the barrier islands, perhaps having originally been planted. Flowers June to July. A larger and stouter plant than the native Adam's Needle.
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and smooth-edged |
Curve-leaved Yucca Yucca recurvifolia
Introduced from further west in North America. A few plants survive in dunes on the barrier islands, perhaps having originally been planted. Flowers June to July. A larger and stouter plant than the native Adam's Needle. Young leaves stout but flexible and soon curving downward.
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flexed downward |
Narrow-leaved Plantain-lily Hosta lancifolia
Native of Eastern Asia, though many varieties are of garden origin. Widely grown as an ornamental and occasionally persisting as a garden throwout on waste ground. Flowers July to September. Leaves are similar to those of plantains but are usually much larger and often very glossy.
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