Safety note: The stiff, sharply pointed leaf tips can cause painful puncture wounds. Handle with caution.
Spanish Bayonet is a dramatic coastal yucca growing along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from North Carolina to Mexico, forming a trunk up to 10 feet tall topped with a rosette of rigid, sword-like leaves with needle-sharp tips. Large, waxy white flowers are borne on an upright spike and are fragrant at night. The tough, saw-edged leaves were used by Indigenous peoples as a source of fiber for rope and baskets. Spanish Bayonet is a characteristic plant of coastal dunes and maritime shrub communities.
Habitat
Found on coastal dunes, maritime shrubs, and dry sandy soils along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.
Diet
Flowers pollinated exclusively by Yucca moths; fruits consumed by raccoons and other mammals.
How common
Uncommon
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