Giant Dagger Yucca (Yucca faxoniana) - You are now entering a forest of giant dagger yuccas. They are abundant in the Deadhorse Mountains, but rare elsewhere in the park, preferring the limestone soil these mountains provide. These tree-like succulents can reach an impressive 30 feet in height and 2 feet in diameter, crowning these giants as monarchs of this desert.
The giant daggers are spectacular at anytime, but in the late spring (April-June) they burst into bloom with hundreds of creamy white flowers, each up to four inches long, on branched flower spikes. A bloom stalk with flowers can weigh up to 70 pounds! Like all yuccas, this giant depends on the little pronuba moth for pollination to continue the fragile balance of life. The female moth gathers the pollen into a tiny ball which she holds beneath her "chin". She then carries it to another yucca flower where she deposits her eggs into the flower ovary and spreads the pollen on the receptive stigma. The hatched moth larvae feed on the developing seeds, but overlook enough to allow for future generations of yuccas and moths.