''Hesperaloe funifera'' (Coahuilan Hesperaloe, Giant Hesperaloe, or Mexican false yucca) is a plant species native to
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
(
Val Verde County
Val Verde County is a County (United States), county located on the southern Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population is 47,586. Its county seat is Del Rio, Texas, Del Rio. In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Te ...
) and northern Mexico (
Coahuila
Coahuila (), formally Coahuila de Zaragoza (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila de Zaragoza), is one of the 32 states of Mexico.
Coahuila borders the Mexican states of N ...
,
San Luis Potosí
San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...
,
Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
), but sometimes cultivated as an ornamental elsewhere.
[Flora of North America v 26 v 441, ''Hesperaloe funifera''](_blank)
/ref>
''Hesperaloe funifera'' grows on rocky slopes and open plains in the Tamaulipan mezquital
The Tamaulipan mezquital ( es, Mezquital Tamaulipeco) is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in the southern United States and northeastern Mexico. It covers an area of , encompassing a portion of the Gulf Coastal Plain in southern Texas, no ...
and the eastern edges of the Chihuahuan Desert
The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...
. It is a rosette-forming perennial. It has long, narrow, yellow-green blades up to 200 cm long but only 5 cm across. Flowering stalk can be up to 250 cm tall, with long branches. Flowers are green or white, often tinged with purple, about 25 mm across.
The specific name ''funifera'' is derived from the Latin ''funis'' "rope
A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly ...
" and ''fero'' "I bear" and thus signifies "bearer (provider) of rope" in reference to the plant's strong fibre, which may be used for this purpose.[Google translate: language: Latin.]
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1615634
Agavoideae
Plants described in 1862
Flora of the Chihuahuan Desert
Flora of Coahuila
Flora of San Luis Potosí
Flora of Nuevo León
Flora of Sonora
Flora of Texas