Hi Mika,

The plant in your photo appears quite tall and I'm wondering if it might be Spineless Yucca (Yucca gigantea), rather than Yuucca gloriosa?

Yucca gloriosa has more of a mounding habit and only grows to approximately 8 feet tall whereas, Y. gigantea has more of a tree-like habit and can attain heights to 30 feet.

edited to add photos for comparison:

I'm not disputing the ID you have suggested (and gigantea would appear to be the bigger plant), but my reference book (Irish & Irish) lists Y. gloriosa as an arborescent species from 6-15 feet tall.

Thanks Baja, perhaps it is Y. gloriosa ... I had no idea they grew that tall!

The ones here do.

I think its elephantipes/gigantea.
https://davesgarden.com/guides...
That one has no leaf spikes on the tip, neither does this.
Ive seen gloriosa top at about 2, 5 meters but not much higher.
Perhaps a misnomer?

(posted a comment twice by accident)

Just a quick guide on my end:
gloriosa:
Short, shrubby/small tree species.
Long leaves, rough leaf texture
Saggy leaves
Spikes on end
Hardy
blooms when young(mine did)
dark(grayish trunk)
Thick trunk
aloifolia:
tall, to tree like
Persistent leaves(stay green longer)
Short to intermediate lengths
Serrated edges
Purple fruit(yuck)
Leaves upright
Spine on end
Leaves are rough
Elephantipes/gigantea:
Height and build similar to aloifolia
But less hardy,
Leaf tips are soft
Leaves can sag
Leaves are saggy,
Not persistent(less foliage)
No purple fruit.
Bright brown/orange trunk
Leaves are smooth

Stefan, those details would be most helpful in comment form below the respective species in the database, if you might be up for stringing a few sentences together. I realize there are already comments for these common Yuccas, but they're not directed at the features which are useful to distinguish one from the next.

Im not exactly a connoisseur of yuccas so i can comment extensively on them. Ive simply grown four species: gigantea/elephantipes, gloriosa, aloifolia(had a variegated one), filamentosa. If nothing else, im very familiar with those .If you need me to provide ID info, ill do it tomorrow
Another thing.. do you have a full photo of your "gloriosa"?
Something feels off about the inflorescence. It looks a bit short...
If i know anything for certain, is that gloriosa spikes average out at 70 cm(roughly 3 feet).

It's in the background of this image. I can't take a picture right now.



I have listed its features and the species they suggest. The leaf length, leaf margins, and leaf tips are supposed to be diagnostic, according to my reference book. I do not claim to have any special knowledge about yuccas.

Leaves about 16" (40cm) (gloriosa not gigantea). Serrated leaf margins (gloriosa not gigantea), leaves blue-green when they emerge (gloriosa not gigantea), not shiny or glossy (gloriosa not gigantea), spineless tip (not aloifolia), not rigid but generally straight (gloriosa). From the best of my recollection the inflorescence is about 2 feet tall (within the range for gloriosa). The landscape plants here are water starved at flowering time (which occurs after months of drought) so their inflorescences may be abbreviated as a result.

I know from the parent of my plant that it grows a swollen base and branches there but not much above, and it probably will not get bigger than about 12-15 feet. This is a really common garden plant locally, and they're all the same species as far as I can tell. There's a really old, statuesque one planted down by the highway that I need to take a picture of.

I think yours is yucca treculeana https://davesgarden.com/guides... (bear in mind, there may be a odd schotti/fillifera mixed in there, shown in the link ) . At that size 40cm is too short. My yucca has leaves about 50cm (2,5 feet) . They peak at bout 65-70(3, 3/1 feet).
Gloriossa doesnt have serrated margins, they are often hard and woody. Also, not blue green, but dark green-blue(think young parodia magnfica) . very grainy. A bit of glaucous as well.
And that last part is very consistent btw. Ive not seen a non -glaucous gloriosa.

Not treculeana. Wrong branching pattern, no terminal spine, leaf margins not smooth, no marginal color highlights. And incredibly common.

My reference book disagrees about the serrated margins on gloriosa. They have provided me memorably bloody experiences when I tried to rip dead leaves off the stem without gloves. The serrations on the margins are not detectable by sight, only by touch. And the apparent glaucousness of gloriosa leaves is only really evident when they emerge. Later on they are plain green on the plants that I've seen.

My reference book (which I trust on this subject) has gloriosa inflorescences at 2-4 feet tall. What is your source?

I would disagree with the statement that Yucca gigantea has a similar height and built to aloifolia. Mature gigantea are way way bigger. They make giant trunks compared to most other Yuccas, there are certainly many Yuccas that match them for height, but none develop the same giant trunk.

Almost every plant that I see. If anything, i use deduction via the following
-hardiness
-lack of fruit
-availability
Yucca gigantea is not hardy. Period. Even in minor frosts, you see their leaves turn into a yellow mess within a matter of days,
Yucca aloifolia has upright edges and purple fruit. Only yucca to fruit without human aid outside of america
Yucca filamentosa. It has hair,and is smaller. Nuff said.
That leaves us with....you guessed it.
gloriosa.
Hardiness zone(and consistent to most sites) is zone 6(they did get a little bit damaged during the -25 C' winter)
They always get a thick trunk(with compact leaf detail).
Always with a large inflorescence.
Its not any of the other hardy species(none are found here btw) baccata, rostrata, glauca. None even look close.
http://www.llifle.com/Encyclop...
If "mine" is not gloriosa, then which species it is?

I feel like we are getting off track here. I have added all I can to help. I claim no special knowledge. I rely on certain references and I trust the one I have mentioned. I would refer you to the Irish book for all detailed questions about the features of common yucca species.