Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Support the plant database you love!

Share

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:
Yucca rupicola (Twistleaf yucca)
Lytle, Melody

Yucca rupicola

Yucca rupicola Scheele

Twistleaf Yucca, Twisted-leaf Yucca, Texas Yucca, Spanish Dagger

Agavaceae (Century-Plant Family)

Synonym(s): Yucca tortifolia

USDA Symbol: YURU

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Texas yucca or twisted-leaf yucca foliage stays under 2 ft. tall, is edged with white or red. New leaves are straight but become twisted with age. Flowering stalks often over 5 feet tall, bearing a cluster of bell-shaped, white flowers with petals up to 2 1/2 inches long and an inch wide, appearing from April to June. On shallow, stony soil in fields, among scattered trees, and on canyon ledges.

A single Texas yucca plant will begin as a solitary leaf head but will become an open clump of several leaf heads.

 

From the Image Gallery

27 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Cactus/Succulent
Root Type: Fibrous
Leaf Retention: Evergreen
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Lanceolate
Leaf Venation: Parallel
Leaf Pubescence: Glabrous
Leaf Margin: Denticulate
Leaf Apex: Acuminate
Leaf Base: Truncate
Breeding System: Flowers Bisexual
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 2 feet tall not in bloom. Up to about 6 feet tall in bloom.
Leaf: dark-green
Flower: Flower 4-7 cm long. Sepals 4-6.8 cm long/15-24 mm wide. Petals 4-7 cm long
Fruit: Seeds dull black 4-5.5 cm

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Green
Bloom Time: Apr , May , Jun

Distribution

USA: TX
Native Distribution: Endemic to the Edwards Plateau, TX
Native Habitat: Dry, rocky, open areas; limestone ledges. mic. On limestone ledges and grass-covered plains of dense brush and open woodlands on the Edwards Plateau. Ende

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Low
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry
Cold Tolerant: yes
Soil Description: Rocky, limestone soils. Caliche type, Sandy, Sandy Loam, Medium Loam, Clay Loam, Clay
Conditions Comments: Twist-leaf yucca is great to plant in dry, shady spots and shaded rock gardens. The white bell-shaped blossoms atop solitary flower spikes attract night-pollinating moths. The foliage is deer resistant, but they like to eat the blossoms.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Accent tree or shrub, Shortgrass meadow, Rock gardens
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Fragrant Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Larval Host: Kendall's yucca skipper
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: Moderate

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Fredericksburg Nature Center - Fredericksburg, TX
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
Patsy Glenn Refuge, c/o Wimberley Birding Society - Wimberley, TX
NPSOT - Native Plant Society of Texas - Fredericksburg, TX
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX
NPSOT - Fredericksburg Chapter - Fredericksburg, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
Jacob's Well Natural Area - Wimberley, TX
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX

Wildflower Center Seed Bank

LBJWC-1103 Collected 2007-09-15 in Blanco County by Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

1 collection(s) available in the Wildflower Center Seed Bank

Bibliography

Bibref 355 - Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Bibref 354 - Native & Naturalized Woody Plants of Austin & the Hill Country (1981) Lynch, D.
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 281 - Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas (1999) Diggs, G. M.; B. L. Lipscomb; B. O'Kennon; W. F...
Bibref 286 - Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

From the Archive

Wildflower Newsletter 1993 VOL. 10, NO.6 - Saving Trees and Plants at New Center Site a Big Job, Director's Report, Wildflo...

Additional resources

USDA: Find Yucca rupicola in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Yucca rupicola in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Yucca rupicola

Metadata

Record Modified: 2022-09-08
Research By: LAL, GAP, JSC

Go back