Spineless Yucca (Yucca gigantea)

I know this plant as Yucca guatemalensis with Synonyms of Y. elephantipes and Y. gigantea. I'm not sure which is actually correct, but Spineless Yucca, a/k/a Giant yucca can grow to heights of 30'. It has the white bell-shaped blooms of other Yuccas and long 4' serrated leaves. With age, the trunk becomes thick and develops a swollen base with branches near the base.

I have a few of these Spineless Yuccas in my yard. The original came from a lopped-off stem of a neighbor's plant a couple of years ago. Cuttings root easily and I have shared a few with family, friends and other neighbors. In my experience, the ones planted in full sun grow much faster than those in shady locations.

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New shoots from base.

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My neighbor is from Guatemala where they harvest the flowers and cook them with eggs.

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I've had a large houseplant for over ten years in the sunny backroom. I put it outside on the back deck during the growing season, but I don't have to, as it is fine as a total indoor plant in that location. It was given to me by a friend who had it in an indoor location that did not have enough light and it was about 7 feet high but spindly. I cut it way down, put it out on the sunny back deck, and it regrew into a stockier, much better looking plant. For years I thought it was the similar Yucca aloifolia, but this species does not have the sharp stiffness of that other species. Thanks to a horticultural expert who knows tropical plants, responding to the Houseplant Forum on this website, I recently found it is the Soft-tip or Spineless Yucca. I am a northerner here in southeast Pennsylvania who knows a number of common houseplants and plants of the northern USA, but I don't know many tropical species of plants. This Yucca gigantea is native to Mexico and Central America. Its flower is the national flower of El Salvador. My plant has never bloomed.

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