from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Yucca \Yuc"ca\, n. [NL., from Yuca, its name in St. Domingo.]
(Bot.)
A genus of American liliaceous, sometimes arborescent, plants
having long, pointed, and often rigid, leaves at the top of a
more or less woody stem, and bearing a large panicle of showy
white blossoms.
[1913 Webster]
Note: The species with more rigid leaves (as {Yucca
aloifolia}, {Yucca Treculiana}, and {Yucca baccata})
are called {Spanish bayonet}, and one with softer
leaves ({Yucca filamentosa}) is called {bear grass},
and {Adam's needle}.
[1913 Webster]
{Yucca moth} (Zool.), a small silvery moth ({Pronuba
yuccasella}) whose larvae feed on plants of the genus
{Yucca}.
[1913 Webster]