The genus Yucca contains at least 50 species within the Agavaceae, and numerous subspecies, varieties, forms, cultivars and hybrids of horticultural merit have been described. The genus exhibits a variety of forms from short stemless grasslike plants to towering, branched treelike plants with one to many rosettes. A number of species have underground rhizomes which spread to create low colonies. The inflorescence in Yucca is a raceme or, more commonly, a panicle. Yuccas occur exclusively in the Americas, distributed over a wide area from Canada into Central America and the Carribean with species adapted to dry deserts, grasslands and tropical rainforests.
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