Participant Info

Species

Yucca glauca [Yucca angustifolia]

Family

Asparagaceae

CommonName

Great Plains yucca, soapweed

Presence

Yes

Status

native

EarliestDate

1935

LatestDate

2019

Ecosystem

shrubland, foothill, montane, ruderal, urban

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos, UBasin, LBasin

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache

Passes

WildlifePreserves

Baca, Great Sand Dunes

Other Localities

Alamosa (town), La Botica, Del Norte

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Saguache Co, Biedell Creek N of La Garita 27 May 2019

Comments

Ackerfield shows Yucca glauca in Alamosa, Saguache, Conejos, and Costilla counties, but in the Watershed it is also quite common in the foothills of Rio Grande and Mineral counties. In New Mexico it follows the Rio Grande drainage nearly to the border with Mexico and Texas. In the USA, it is one of a limited number of flowers that grow extensively in both the Great Plains and the Rockies. Although it was called soapweed, pioneers had trouble getting much of a lather out of the roots.

Annotation