Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the agave family, Agavaceae. 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 North America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Yucca aloifolia commonly known as Spanish Bayonet has an erect trunk, 7 to 12cm in diameter, reaching up to 6m tall. The trunk is armed with sharp pointed strap like leaves each about 60cm long. The young leaves near the growing tip stand erect; older ones are reflexed downward, and the oldest wither and turn brown, hanging around the lower trunk like a Hawaiian skirt. Eventually the tip of the trunk develops a 60cm long spike of white, purplish-tinged flowers, each blossom about 10cm across. After flowering, the trunk stops growing, but one or more lateral buds are soon formed, and the uppermost becomes a new terminal shoot. Any other buds become branches, but these are usually few, and the plant has an open, airy habit. Spanish bayonet also produces new buds, or offshoots, near the base of the trunk, forming a thicket.