Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Sunday - February 06, 2011

From: McKinney, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Plant Identification
Title: No, you are not crazy.
Answered by: Damon Waitt

QUESTION:

Has the family classification for Coral Yucca changed recently? I was going through some old notes and expanding them for a class I need to teach for some homeschoolers, and it appears that Coral Yucca used to be classified in the Liliaceae (on this site in 2006) and is now classified in Agavaceae (on this site). Have I gone crazy or has the classification been altered? Confused, Emily in TX

ANSWER:

The lily family was formerly a "catch-all" group that included a great number of genera now included in other families including Hesperaloe parviflora (Red yucca) now classified in the Agavaceae. Note that both the Liliaceae and the Agavaceae are in the same order, Liliales.