Desert Spoon Yucca is an evergreen long lived plant with long, gray strap-shaped serrated leaves on a stout short trunk that can rise 4 to 6 feet and the spread can be about the same. The 3 foot long narrow leaves are blue-gray color with sharp serrated margins and a spoon shaped base that gives the plant one of its common name. These leaf bases remain on the trunk giving it a rough appearance.
Flowering occurs only every few years with tiny pale brownish greenish male or female flowers (this is a dioecious plant bearing flowers of one sex or the other) on stout spikes 10 to 15 feet tall from the center of the leaf rosette in early summer. After flowering the rosette branches at the base of the inflorescence to replace the flowering rosette and enabling the stem to continue to grow on.
Plant in full sun. It is drought tolerant and hardy to 0 degrees F. Though flowering is not a regular occurrence the flowers are interesting and attract bees, butterflies and other insects to the garden. It is a bit of a challenge in the garden as its teeth along the leaf margins are sharp and will grab clothing and skin so keep away from pathways and wear leather gloves when trimming or pulling older leaves. This plant inhabits rocky hillsides and grasslands from 3,000 to 6,000 feet in southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico west Texas and south into Sonora Mexico. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'dasys', meaning "dense" , "rough" or "shaggy" and 'lirion' meaning "lily" likely in reference to the long rough leaves.
