The Spanish Dagger, Yucca treculeana, is a common sight along rural Texas Hill Country highways, especially in the southern portion of the Edwards Plateau. This shrub or small tree-like member of the Agave Century Plant family is also known as Spanish Bayonet, Don Quixote’s Lance, Palma Pita and Palmito. Its native range extends from the Edwards Plateau, throughout the Rio Grande Plains and into northern Mexico. In the last 75 years or so it has experienced a decline of about 30 percent, mostly due to habitat loss.
The Spanish Dagger leaves are thick, sword-like and rigid, about 3 feet long and 1 ½” to 3” wide. They are blue-green, sport a sturdy spine at the tip and grow from a center core forming a dense clump at the end of branches. As the plant matures, the dead leaves droop over the emerging stems and the new leaves sprout from the top, forming a tree-shaped silhouette.
The showy flower stalks emerge from the center of the leaf clump in March and April. They are cream-colored, fragrant and waxy. Occasionally specimens have red flowers. Blooming occurs in alternate years.
These succulents provide a variety of benefits to native wildlife. Several species of birds nest in the leaves; they are the nesting site for nectar moths and the larval host to the Yucca giant skipper butterfly, the Ursine giant skipper and the Strecker’s giant skipper butterflies. Deer will eat the blossoms but not the leaves.
Spanish Daggers are often planted in a residential landscape to highlight their ornamental blooms but, due to their sharp spines, they should not be planted close to walkways or play areas. They prefer sandy loam, clay loam or clay soil, part shade and medium moisture. A row of them provides an effective security hedge. These Agaves are cold tolerant. Native Americans used the trunks as stockades and used the fiber for cloth, rope and sandals. Young stalks can be eaten raw or boiled and the flowers are also edible.