Yucca, Texas Red
Scientific Name: Hesperaloe parviflora
History/general species info: also known as red yucca, hummingbird yucca, redflower false yucca and samandoque, is a plant that is native to Chihuahuan desert of west Texas east and south into central and south Texas and northeastern Mexico around Coahuila.
Characteristics: Evergreen. Perennial. Low water use. Succulents / Cacti - plants having fleshy leaves or stems that store water. All cacti are succulents. Not all succulents are cacti. Grows in sand, loam, clay, and caliche. Thorns. Flowers not deer resistant. Not a true yucca but a member of the Century-Plant family. Dark green rosette of long, thin leaves rising fountain-like from the base provides an unusual sculptural accent, its long spikes of pink to red to coral bell-shaped flowers last from May through October. Unlike yucca, the leaves are not spine-tipped, and have fibrous threads along the edges. Hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers.
Native: no; central and west Texas
Flower: yes; red / seed pod
Planting / Care: Exceedingly tough, tolerating extreme heat and cold and needing no attention or supplemental irrigation once established - although many people remove the dried flower stalks in the fall. Deer may browse the foliage and flowers. Flowers attract hummingbirds. Popular in xeriscape landscape design
Size and Spacing: Height: 2-3’ Spread: 2-3’
Light requirement: Full sun
Wildlife: Hummingbirds
Links:
Aggie Horticulture
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/ornamentals/nativeshrubs/hesperaloeparviflor.htm
Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=hepa8
Photo credit: Ernie Edmundson
