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An overhead view of a small, sprawling desert plant, likely a species of Agave or Yucca, with long, thin, blue-green, spiky leaves radiating from a central point. It is growing in a mix of light sand and small gravel, with a bleached, skeletal saguaro cactus rib structure and large rocks visible in the background.

Banana Yucca

Common Name:
Banana Yucca
Origin:
Southwest US
Color:
  • White
Plant Type:
  • Evergreen
  • Shrub
About:

What plant with banana-like fruit could you find in the desert? Learn more about the Banana Yucca.

Yucca baccata

The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map is the standard by which gardeners and growers can determine which plants are most likely to thrive at a location. The map is based on the average annual minimum winter temperature, divided into 10-degree F zones.

2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map

6a (−10 °F to −5 °F)

6b (−5 °F to 0 °F)

7a (0 °F to 5 °F)

7b (5 °F to 10 °F)

8a (10 °F to 15 °F)

8b (15 °F to 20 °F)

9a (20 °F to 25 °F)

9b (25 °F to 30 °F)

10a (30 °F to 35 °F)

10b (35 °F to 40 °F)

11a (40 °F to 45 °F)

11b (45 °F to 50 °F)

Endangered Status
  • Not Evaluated (NE)

Desert bananas

The Banana Yucca (yuck-ka) is called such due to its large fruits which can be four to nine inches long. These fruits were a staple food for many Native American tribes, who consumed them raw, cooked or dried for winter use. In fact, Native Americans consumed most of this plant; young leaves were cooked as flavoring in soups, the flowers were eaten as a sugary treat and flower stems were cooked as a vegetable. 

Fun Facts:
  • Leaves were used in making baskets and ropes.
  • Soap can be made from stems and leaves of this plant.
A tall cluster of creamy white, bell-shaped flowers blooms from the center of a Yucca plant. The plant has numerous long, rigid, sword-like blue-green leaves with white, curling threads along the edges. The plant is growing in dry, reddish-brown desert soil, with a piece of driftwood or dead wood lying near its base and other blurred desert foliage in the background.