Hesperaloe (false yucca)[2] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae.[1] It contains perennial yucca-like plants with long, narrow leaves produced in a basal rosette and flowers borne on long panicles or racemes. The species are native to the arid parts of Texas in the United States and Mexico and are sometimes cultivated as xerophytic ornamental plants.[3]

Hesperaloe
Hesperaloe parviflora
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Subfamily: Agavoideae
Genus: Hesperaloe
Engelm.[1]

The genus name is derived from the Greek word έσπερος (hesperos), meaning "western," and aloe, which the plants resemble.[4] The genus is not closely related to Aloe, the later belonging to a different family (Asphodelaceae).

Species

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Accepted species:[5][6]

Image Scientific name Distribution
  Hesperaloe campanulata G.Starr Nuevo León
  Hesperaloe chiangii (G.D.Starr) B.L.Turner San Luis Potosí
  Hesperaloe engelmannii Krauskopf ex Baker Texas
  Hesperaloe funifera (K.Koch) Trel. Coahuila, Nuevo León, Texas, Sonora, San Luis Potosí
  Hesperaloe malacophylla Hochstätter & Mart.-Aval. Tamaulipas
  Hesperaloe nocturna Gentry Sonora
  Hesperaloe parviflora (Torr.) J.M.Coult. – Red Yucca Coahuila, Texas
Hesperaloe tenuifolia G.Starr Sonora

References

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  1. ^ a b "Genus: Hesperaloe Engelm". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-05-25.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "​Hesperaloe​". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 14 May 2015.
  3. ^ Flora of North America, Vol. 26 Page 441, Hesperaloe Engelmann, Botany (Fortieth Parallel). 497. 1871.
  4. ^ Robbins, R. Laurie. "Hesperaloe Engelmann, Botany (Fortieth Parallel). 497. 1871". Flora of North America. eFloras.org. Retrieved 2011-08-05.
  5. ^ "GRIN Species Records of Hesperaloe". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  6. ^ "Hesperaloe". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
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