Yucca elata is a perennial plant, with common names that include soaptree, soaptree yucca, soapweed, and palmella. [3][4] It is native to southwestern North America, in the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the United States (western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona), southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, ...

One of the most reliable trunking yuccas for cold climates, Yucca elata (Soaptree Yucca) is a very ornamental, slow-growing, evergreen tree-like yucca boasting a dense rosette of narrow, linear, blue-green leaves, up to 4 ft. long (120 cm).

Feb 1, 2024 · Plant Characteristics: A slender, upright yucca with a spire-like appearance, featuring long, narrow leaves and a tall stalk of white, bell-shaped flowers. The trunk is often covered in a skirt of dead leaves. Growing & Care: Thrives in full sun and well-drained, sandy soil.

This historic yucca grows six to twenty feet tall or more with an erect, upright trunk and spreads eight feet wide. Its showy, white, bell-shaped flowers are the state flower of New Mexico. The plant was named for the substances in its roots and trunks used by Native Americans as a substitute for soap.

Engelm. - soaptree yucca P.

The soaptree yucca is one of the most characteristic plants of the Chihuahuan Desert. It is an abundant evergreen, palm-like shrub or small tree growing 10 to 18 feet high. The gray trunk -- with a diameter of 6 to 12 inches -- is slightly furrowed below and covered with dead leaves at …

Like all yucca species with dehiscent fruits, soaptree yucca is rhizomatous. The species is unique in that the rhizome develops downward (to 3-5 feet [1-1.5 m] deep) and later begins lateral root extensions (U.S Forest Service).

Perhaps few people make soap from Yucca elata these days, but soaptree yucca's quirky appearance remains universally charming. Carefree and drought tolerant, the soaptree yucca thrives in Sunset Climate Zones 7 to 24.

This treelike yucca can grow to 6-20 feet tall, usually with 2 to 5 branches, although older clusters can form up to 20 trunks. A spherical head of narrow, flexible leaves crowns each branch. The leaves measure from 1 to 3 feet long, with white margins and fuzzy white fibers along the edges.

Yucca elata is a common, widespread and quite distinctive species, growing tall and eventually branching, forming tree-like plants up to 15 feet high, resembling the Joshua tree through generally smaller, with longer leaves and fewer branches.