Species · genus Yucca · Asparagaceae

Banana Yucca

Yucca baccata Torr.

Also known as: Datil Yucca

Growth habit

shrub or tree

Native range

Arizona, California, Colorado, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah

Reference · Y. baccata

Cultivars of Y. baccata

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under Y. baccata yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Yucca baccata is an arid-adapted shrub from the deserts and high plateaus of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it stores water in stiff, fibrous leaves and tolerates strong sun and dry air. Give it the brightest, most direct light you can and a gritty, fast-draining mix, then water deeply only after the soil has dried out completely — wait until the top several inches are bone dry before watering again. It rots if left sitting wet, so when in doubt, leave it dry.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

7–32 °C

Soil mix

Sharp, sandy cactus mix over deep drainage

Propagation

Offsets or seed; rhizome cuttings

Fertilizing

Light cactus feed once or twice in spring and summer

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Saponins — vomiting, drooling. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Banana Yucca yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.