''Yucca'' × ''schottii'' is a plant species in the genus ''

Yucca ''Yucca'' ( , YUCK-uh) is both the scientific name and common name for a genus native to North America from Panama to southern Canada. It contains 50 accepted species. In addition to yucca, they are also known as Adam's needle or Spanish-bayon ...

'', native to southern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and the northern parts of Sonora and Chihuahua. The common names are Schott's yucca, hoary yucca, and mountain yucca. The "×" in the name indicates that this is a

nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...

, regarded as being a natural hybrid between two other species. In this case, ''Yucca'' × ''schottii'' is believed to have originated as a hybrid between '' Y. baccata'' and '' Y. madrensis''. ''Yucca'' × ''schottii'' is firmly established and does reproduce freely in the wild. ''Yucca'' × ''schottii'' is called mountain yucca because it is found at higher elevations than other tree-like yuccas. It occurs in the

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

s at the north of the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

cordillera A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from , a diminutive of ('rope'). The term is most commonly used in physical geogra ...

. It is found in extreme southeast

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, then the smaller bootheel region of southwest

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and the neighboring northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

states of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

and extreme northwest Chihuahua. Most of its range, about half is in Arizona. The mountainous regions of Arizona are in the northeast

Sonora Desert The Sonoran Desert () is a hot desert and ecoregion in North America that covers the northwestern Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur, as well as part of the Southwestern United States (in Arizona and California). It ...

, as well as Sonora; the region of New Mexico–Chihuahua lies on the extreme northwest border of the Chihuahuan Desert. This specific region at the intersection of these two deserts, is a

Basin and Range Basin and range topography is characterized by alternating parallel mountain ranges and valleys. It is a result of crustal extension due to mantle upwelling, gravitational collapse, crustal thickening, or relaxation of confining stresses. The e ...

area, with

sky island Sky islands are isolated mountains surrounded by radically different lowland environments. The term originally referred to those found on the Mexican Plateau and has extended to similarly isolated high-elevation forests. The isolation has s ...

s, named the

Madrean Sky Islands The Madrean Sky Islands are enclaves of Madrean pine–oak woodlands, found at higher elevations in a complex of small mountain ranges in southern and southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. The sky islands are su ...

for the Madrean pine forests of the

. ''Yucca'' × ''schottii'' is a tall species up to 5 m in height, with thin trunks rarely more than 30 cm across, branching occasionally well above ground. Leaves are lanceolate, broad and tapering at both ends, stiff and rigid, up to 60 cm long and up to 8 cm wide, with a hard spine forming the tip. Flowers are white. Fruit is fleshy and egg-shaped.McKelvey, Susan. 1938. Yuccas of the Southwestern United States. Jamaica Plain: Arnold Arboretum. File:Yucca schottii 20070226-1535-58.JPG, Mountain yucca
(Schott's yucca)

References

External links

NRCS: USDA Plants Profile: ''Yucca schottii'' Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, ''Yucca schottii''.photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical garden, type collection of ''Yucca ''×'' macrocarpa'', a synonym of ''Yucca x schottii''photo of herbarium specimen at Missouri Botanical Garden, ''Yucca x schottii''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yucca schottii schottii Plant nothospecies Flora of Arizona Flora of New Mexico Flora of Sonora Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Northwestern Mexico New Mexico Bootheel Taxa named by George Engelmann Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants