Yucca pallida

Yucca pallida, Photo taken May 2015 outside Goldthwaite, Texas
Copyright © 2015 Mike Murphy.

Synonyms:
Yucca rupicola sensu Trelease, in Rep. Missouri Bot. Gard. 13: 1902, t. 39, 2 figs., and in part as to range.

Type location:
Just north of Ranger, Eastland Co., Texas.

Distribution:
In Texas, Dallas, Waco, Killeen Region, at 165 - 300 m.

Short description of the species:
Plants acaulescent, forming small or larger open clumps of rosettes of with few leaves. Leaves bluish, waxy, 20 - 35 cm long, 3 cm wide, margin of the leaves dark olive-green with short sharp "teeth's". Inflorescens 100 to 250 cm tall (occasionally 400 cm l. Scape held high above the leaves 60 to 130 cm long (occasionally up to 300 cm long!). Branchlets 10 to 20 cm long. Flowers campanulate (bell shaped), 5 to 6,5 cm long, white to greenish. Fruit 4 to 6 cm long, 1,5 to 3 cm thick. Seeds black dull, quite small 0,4 to 0,6 x 0,2 to 0,3 cm.

Pollinated by the yuccamoth species Tegeticula yuccasella.

Leaf of Yucca pallida. Photo by Benny Moeller Jensen ©2000-2005

Notes:
The new growth is quite distinctive from Yucca rupicola while the leaf grows as a spike in the center of the rosette and dos not loosen it from the "spike" until it's almost grown to it's full length. In Yucca rupicola the leaf starts to grow from way down in the rosette (almost like on a Bromelia!!).

Yucca pallida is related to:
Yucca reverchonii
Yucca rostrata
Yucca rupicola
Yucca thompsoniana
Yucca cernua, status not sure, maybe a natural hybrid with genes from Yucca rupicola or Yucca pallida?

Hardiness:
Yucca pallida is quite hardy if it can be kept dry during the winter, I have a plant that are grown inside in an unheated greenhouse, and the plant really look healthy. Another plant is grown in a raised bed, that are protected against winter moisture from October to May, this plant does OK in mild winters, but in very cold and long winters the rosettes are killed, but then new rosettes starts from the rhizomes.

My own plants:

#339A Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co.,
           Growing up against a south facing house wall, planted in spring 2007.
            Sown 1992, seeds from Mesa Garden #1977.86
#339B Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co.,
           grown in a pot that are stored inside the unheated greenhouse during the winter.
           Sown 1992, seeds from Mesa Garden #1977.86
#339C Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co., Grown inside the unheated greenhouse.
            Sown 1992, seeds from Mesa Garden #1977.86
#339D Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co.,
            Grown in a protected bed, outside,
            This is OK during mild winters, but in very cold winters the rosettes are killed!
            Sown 1992, seeds from Mesa Garden #1977.86

Pictures:
 

#339C Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co., Grown inside the unheated greenhouse. Photo taken March 12th. 2000. Photo by Benny Møller Jensen ©2000	#339C Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co., Grown inside the unheated greenhouse. The same plant as the left, now with flower bud coming up, June 14th 2001 Photo by Benny Møller Jensen ©2001	#339A Yucca pallida, Texas, Mills Co., Grown up against a south facing house wall. Photo from September 4th. 2013 Copyright © 2013 Elena Y.G. & Benny M. Jensen	Yucca pallida Grown in Alexander Heim's garden in his Greece. Copyright 2007 Alexander Heim.
Yucca pallida, Photo taken May 2015 outside Goldthwaite, Texas. Copyright © 2015 Mike Murphy. Thanks to Mike Murphy for providing this photo from the habitat of this species.

If you have a photo of a Yucca pallida with seed pods, or a photo from habitat, would I be very happy if I may use it! Let me know.

Photos of hybrids with genes from Yucca pallida:
 

2548B Yucca louisianensis x pallida (Y. pallida grown from seeds collected in Killeen Area TX, fh1178.17) Bechtold hybrid MB 25.2010, pod No 2) Plant sown in 2011. Photo from 2014-10-25 Copyright 2014 Elena Y.G. & Benny M. Jensen	2549C Yucca louisianensis x pallida  (Y. pallida grown from seeds collected in Killeen Area TX, fh1178.17) Bechtold hybrid MB26.2010, seed pod No. 3)  Plant sown in 2011. Photo from 2014-10-25 Copyright 2014 Elena Y.G. & Benny M. Jensen

Hybrids involving genes from Yucca pallida:

Yucca arkansana [Oklahoma] x pallida [Watzer]. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 023)

Yucca filamentosa 'Hairy' x pallida, Made by Walter Schönherr in 2013. WS 2013.04

Yucca filamentosa/flaccida complex "Groß" ("High") x pallida [Haage]., Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 010.2010.

Yucca filamentosa/flaccida complex "Steingarten" x pallida One fruit dropped to early, 275 seeds not in good condition. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 012.2010.

Yucca (filamentosa x elata) x pallida, Made By F.N. Rusanov in the years 1945 to 1959, at the botanical garden in Tashkent, USSR, now Republic of Uzbekistan.

Yucca (filamentosa x elata) x pallida (different seed-donor), Made By F.N. Rusanov in the years 1945 to 1959, at the botanical garden in Tashkent, USSR, now Republic of Uzbekistan.

Yucca (filamentosa x elata) Filata Bechtold #1 (fh 1180.88) x pallida (fh 1178.17). Made by Michael Bechtold in 2009 MB 2009.08

Yucca (filamentosa x elata) "Filata", Grex RM-clone x pallida, Made by Christian Zolles, Austria in 2012, CZ006HY.

Yucca (filamentosa x baileyi ssp. intermedia) x pallida, Made By F.N. Rusanov in the years 1945 to 1959, at the botanical garden in Tashkent, USSR, now Republic of Uzbekistan.

Yucca flaccida x pallida, Made By F.N. Rusanov in the years 1945 to 1959, at the botanical garden in Tashkent, USSR, now Republic of Uzbekistan.

Yucca flaccida x pallida, Maybe Fritz Hochstätter 2007?

Yucca 'Golden Sword' x pallida [Haage].  Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 014.2010.

Yucca louisianensis x pallida (fh 1178.17, Killeen Area). Made by Michael Bechtold, Mannheim, Germany in 2010. 4 fruits with the numbers:  MB 24.2010, MB 25.2010, MB 26.2010, MB 27.2010

Yucca pallida [Watzer] x arkansana [Oklahoma]. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 022)

Yucca pallida x filamentosa/flaccida-complex hybrid "Apfelbaum". Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 017.2010.

Yucca pallida x filamentosa/flaccida-complex hybrid "Groß" ("high") 100 seeds not in good condition. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 011.2010.

Yucca pallida x filamentosa/flaccida-complex hybrid "Steingarten" (*) (*) This Yucca garden form in my old alpinum is very similar to Hybrid. "Groß". Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 013.2010.

Yucca pallida x flaccida 'Golden Sword'. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 015.2010.

Yucca pallida (fh 1178.17) x rupicola (fh 1179.92). Made by Michael Bechtold in 2009 MB 2009.25, MB 2009.26

Yucca pallida [Haage] X xkarlsruhensis 120 seeds not in good condition. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 016.2010.

Yucca pallida [Haage] x filamentosa/flaccida-complex "Apfelbaum". Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 017)

Yucca pallida [Haage] x filamentosa/flaccida-complex "Groß" ("High"). Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 011)

Yucca pallida [Haage] x filamentosa/flaccida-complex "Steingarten". Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 013)

Yucca pallida [Haage] x flaccida 'Golden Sword'. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 015)

Yucca pallida [Haage] x filamentosa 'Color Guard' [Rene]. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg Austria. (GG 018)

Yucca pallida x 'Color Guard' (?) [Rene] I'm not sure if it's the real 'Color Guard'. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria in 2010, GG 018.2010.

Yucca pallida (fh 1178.17) x (filamentosa x elata) Filata Bechtold #1 (fh 1180.88). Made by Michael Bechtold in 2009 Bechtold # MB 2009.22, MB 2009.23, MB 2009.24

Yucca pallida x reverchonii, Made by Christian Zolles, Austria in 2012, CZ001HY.

Yucca reverchonii x pallida), made by Walter Schönherr, Odenwald, Germany in 2012.  WS 2012.02

Yucca rupicola (fh 1179.92) x pallida (fh 1178.17). Made by Michael Bechtold in 2009 MB 2009.31

Yucca xkarlsruhensis x pallida [Watzer]. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 020)

Hand pollinated:
Yucca pallida [Watzer] x pallida [Watzer]. Made by Gerhard Gussmagg, Austria. (GG 021)

Reference:
HOCHSTAETTER, F., Succulenta, Netherlands, Vol. 78 no. 5, 207-217, Yucca (Agavaceae) part 5.
HOCHSTAETTER, F; (2000), YUCCA (vol. I): 24-26 (Yucca pallida)
MCKELVEY, Yuccas of the S.W.U.S, vol. 2 (1947), 57 ff.
TRELEASE in Rep. Missouri Bot. Gard. 13: 1902, as to t. 39, 2 figs., and in part as to range.
The Flora of Texas Consortium Vascular Plants Endemic to Texas