Yucca is a
genus of
perennial shrubs and
trees in the
family Asparagaceae, subfamily
Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their
rosettes of
evergreen, tough, sword-shaped
leaves and large terminal
panicles of white or whitish
flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (
arid) parts of the Americas and the
Caribbean. Early reports of the species were confused with the
cassava (
Manihot esculenta). Consequently,
Linnaeus mistakenly derived the generic name from the
Taíno word for the latter,
yuca (spelled with a single "c"). It is commonly found growing in rural graveyards and when in bloom the cluster of (usually pale) flowers on a thin stalk appear as floating apparitions.