Editing Yucca (section)

==Description==
Yuccas are [[perennial]] plants that have one or more rosettes of long, pointed sword shaped leaves. Usually the leaves are stiff and fibrous, but a few species have fleshy leaves.{{sfn|Hess & Robbins 2020a}} The leaves are numerous and arranged in spiral at the ends of stems or branches.{{sfn|Welsh et al. 1987|p=648}} Plants can be a small shrub or be large with a form like a tree.{{sfn|Heil et al. 2013|p=98}} The surface of the leaves are hairless, but some have a very rough surface. About half of all species have fibers that peal off the edges of the leaves.{{sfn|Irish|Irish|2000|p=32}} The leaves never have spines on their edges, but may be very finely toothed.{{sfn|Ingram|2008|p=163}} Some yucca species reproduce by underground [[rhizome]]s and form colonies of plants,{{sfn|Irish|Irish|2000|p=33}} but this feature is rare in the fleshy-fruited yuccas, which will usually produce new sprouts at the base of the plant from nodule-like growths.{{sfn|Webber|1953|p=85}}

Plants without stems or trunks grow from a thick underground [[caudex]], a modified stem with growth at the end like in a palm tree.{{sfn|Churchill|1986|p=1264}} Species that do not have trunks tend to be found in colder areas such as the [[Rocky Mountains]], [[Great Plains]], and eastern United States. Species with trunks are more common in the subtropics, deserts, and tropics to the south.{{sfn|Irish|Irish|2000|p=33}} The largest of these tree yuccas is ''Yucca brevifolia'', commonly known as the [[Joshua tree]] in the American southwest.{{sfn|Linford|2007|p=99}} The Joshua tree can reach up to {{convert|15|m|sp=us}} in height.{{sfn|Hess & Robbins 2020b}} Every species grows in soil, except for ''[[Yucca lacandonica]]'', which grows as an [[epiphyte]].{{sfn|Thiede|2020|p=363}}

Some species have a [[Scape (botany)|scape]], a long flowering stem without any leaves or bracts along its length. These are always less than {{convert|2.5|cm|0|sp=us}} in diameter. The [[inflorescence]] is usually upright, but in a few species bends over and hangs downward. The inflorcences can be a [[panicle]], where the flowers are on branches off the main stem, or a [[raceme]], where the flowers are attached directly by flower stalks to the main stem.{{sfn|Hess & Robbins 2020a}} Though the plants live for many years and flower multiple times, each inflorescence dies after setting seed.{{sfn|Thiede|2020|p=363}}

The flowers are large and showy, ranging from bell shaped to round like a globe.{{sfn|Heil et al. 2013|p=98}} The six [[tepal]]s are white to cream or slightly green in color.{{sfn|Thiede|2020|p=363}} They are thick and leathery in texture, and in many species the three outermost tepals will have red, pink, maroon, purple, or brown streaks.{{sfn|Irish|Irish|2000|p=34}}

[[File:Yucca elata seed pod.jpg|thumb|The dry capsule of ''Yucca elata'', the soaptree yucca, open with the flat black seeds inside]]
In about half of the species the fruit is a dry [[Capsule (fruit)|capsule]]. In the other half, it is a fleshy fruit. Inside the fruit, the seeds are tightly packed, flat, and black in color.{{sfn|Irish|Irish|2000|p=36–37}} Dry capsules are held in an upright position while soft capsules hang downwards.{{sfn|Heil et al. 2013|p=98}}

Due to similar characteristics of many species it is difficult to identify them without flowers or fruits. Many characteristics taken together are needed to make identifications, often including the size and color of the [[pistil]], [[style (botany)|style]], and flowers while alive.{{sfn|Heil et al. 2013|p=99}} Yuccas are distinct from ''Agave'' due to typically having less succulent leaves, thicker flower petals, and a lack of spines on leaf edges.{{sfn|Ingram|2008|p=163}}