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Mound-lily Yucca

Yucca gloriosa

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in dunes, shell middens, also regularly cultivated and often persistent or weakly escaped around old homesites inland. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

56
Strong

Native to Mississippi (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 82%

Height
6–16 feet
Spread
6–8 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Dry to moist

Space about 7 ft apart from its recorded spread. Enter your bed size for a count

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At a glance

Life cycle
Woody perennial
Fruiting season
November to December

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Leaves: no source found yet.

Recorded in 5 Mississippi counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

13CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Yucca

  • Amyelois transitellaNavel Orangeworm
  • Cryptothelea gloveriiOrange Bagworm
  • Megathymus yuccaeYucca Giant-Skipper, Colorado Yucca Skipper
  • Melitara prodenialisEastern Cactus-Boring Moth, Eastern Blue Cactus Borer
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Prodoxus decipiensBogus Yucca Moth
  • Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
Show all 13
  • Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
  • Tegeticula yuccasellaYucca Moth
  • Xylesthia pruniramiellaClemens' Bark Moth, Speckled Xylesthia
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Yucca

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Yucca

  • Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Agavaceae
Hardiness
Zones 7a–11b
Flower color
Cream, purple, red or white
Fruit begins
November
Fruit ends
December

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Mound lily Yucca

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNR
Global rankG4?
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources