Species PlantsSoapweed Yucca

Soapweed Yucca

Yucca glauca

CommonPlant
Illustration of Soapweed Yucca (Yucca glauca)
Safety note: Leaf tips are extremely sharp.

Soapweed Yucca is the most widespread yucca on the Great Plains, forming dense clumps of stiff, narrow leaves on dry prairies, hillsides, and sandy soils from Canada to Texas. Its tall spikes of creamy-white flowers bloom in May and June and are exclusively pollinated by yucca moths in a classic obligate mutualism. Pronghorn, deer, and prairie dogs use the dense leaf rosettes for shelter.

Habitat
Dry prairies, sandy hillsides, and plains of the central Great Plains
Diet
Flowers exclusively pollinated by yucca moths; rosettes shelter small mammals
How common
Common

Best time to see a Soapweed Yucca

The best time to see a Soapweed Yucca is April–July, when about 61% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 9,530 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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