''Yucca baileyi'' is a plant in the family

Agavaceae Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the agav ...

. It is native to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

but has been cultivated elsewhere. Much of its native range is within the boundaries of the

Navajo The Navajo (; British English: Navaho; nv, Diné or ') are a Native American people of the Southwestern United States. With more than 399,494 enrolled tribal members , the Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United ...

(Diné) Reservation, hence the common name "Navajo

yucca ''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flo ...

." The Navajo people make extensive use of

fibers to make a wide assortment of useful and ceremonial items. They also use the roots as soap. It is not considered to be threatened, as it has a large range and an overall stable population. ''Yucca baileyi'' is a relatively small species, usually

acaulescent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

but sometimes with a short leafy stem. It can produce as many as 15 rosettes. Flowering stalk is up to 150 cm tall, with greenish-white to slightly purplish flowers.McKelvey, Susan Delano. Yuccas of the Southwestern United States 2: 116–122, map 4, pl. 44–47. 1947.

References

External links

photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, ''Yucca baileyi'' collected near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 1874Plants Profile for Yucca baileyi (Navajo yucca), USDA
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1479479 baileyi Flora of the Southwestern United States Plants described in 1913