#red yucca

[cafnicthc]

[crudlynaturephotos]

[egbctx]

[fatchance]

Red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora), Glendale, Arizona. 

[txwitchery]

Red Yucca / Samansoque

Hesperaloe parviflora

Native to the Chihuahuan Desert of west Texas, this clumped evergreen plant bears tall red flowers, attractive to humans and hummingbirds alike, that make it a favourite in water-conscious landscaping. Its narrow leaves are bordered with a fringe of white stringy hairs. Its close cousin, H. funifera, is under observation as a possible sustainable source of paper pulp due to the genus’s high levels of alpha-cellulose coupled with low levels of lignin. 

Although one of its English common names is ‘red yucca’, this plant is not actually a yucca, but rather in the Agave Family (Agavaceae). The foliage is readily eaten by deer, and hummingbirds drink nectar from the flowers. I could not find any historical or current medicinal use for any part of the plant. 

I associate the red yucca with the Sun, the element Fire, the god Vulcan, and the astrological sign Capricorn. 

[cactguy]

Hesperaloes at The Dallas Arboretum w @megalonian

[crudlynaturephotos]

[crudlynaturephotos]