Arizona Wild Flowers
Wildflower Pictures And Photos

Banana Yucca, Yucca baccata

Banana Yucca, Yucca baccata - Photo Taken March 16, 2005 Saguaro Lake.

Banana Yucca, Yucca baccata	Banana Yucca, Yucca baccata
Banana Yucca, Yucca baccata	Banana Yucca, Yucca baccata

Banana Yucca Yucca baccata, Lily Family ( Liliaceae ) , Banana Yucca. Also called Datil, Blue Yucca, Indian banana, or Broadleaf Yucca. Usually a single evergreen clump about 3 - 6 feet high which can sometimes form multiple heads. It's banana shaped fruit is edible. The leaves were used by native Americans to make baskets, sandals, and mats. Banana Yucca (as well as other yuccas) rely on the female Pronuba Moth for pollination. No other pollinator can transfer the pollen from one flower to another. The female Yucca Moth has evolved special organs which collect and distribute the pollen onto the surface of the flower. The moth then lays her eggs in the flowers' ovaries, and when the larvae hatch, they feed upon the yucca seeds. Without this moth, the Banana Yucca could not reproduce, nor could the moth, whose larvae need the seeds to eat. An old Banana Yucca can sprout new plants from its roots, however only the seeds produced by pollinated flowers can scatter far enough away from the old plant to establish a new stand of plants. Yucca baccata was in the Aguave Family but now is in the Lilly Family. Height: About 3 - 6 feet spreading out to about 3 - 10 foot wide. Flowers: The waxy, bell-shaped flowers are very narrow and usually white or greenish, sometimes reddish in color. They are on a spike held 2 - 3 feet above the main clump. They hang down like a bunch of banana. Blooming Time: April - May. Leaves: The leaves have long slender points; curved or U-shaped across the blade width; a rough texture; with small threads on the margins; and the points on the leaf ends. They are basal rosette. Fruit: 4 - 6 inches long, shaped like a banana; edible. Stems/Trunks: They may form a small 2 - 5 foot trunk with age. Elevation: 2500 - 8000 Feet. Habitat: On dry hills and flats throughout the Sonoran Desert. It especially likes dry washes between dry hills. Miscellaneous: Flowering Photos Taken March 16, 2005. Near Saguaro Lake.