Kanab Yucca at Coral Pink Sand Dunes, 1985

Description:

Yucca angustissima var. kanabensis (Yucca kanabensis).*A fairly narrowly restricted endemic. Found mainly in southwestern Kane and eastern Washington Cos. in Utah, and also in scattered locations in adjoining Arizona.Growing with Wyethia scabra. When some of the narrow-leaved species in the Yucca genus grow in more or less pure sand, they seem to have particularly noticeable erect-ascending leaves, more so than usual.May 2, 1985, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Kane County, Utah.Scanned from a Kodachrome slide.*A good case can be made for treating this at the species level, and one that is supported by DNA studies. The FNA handling is weak in terms of varietal treatment based on the fact that it hybridizes with other taxa in the genus. So do many other species. Species are not immutable. One of the taxa it forms intergrades with is Y. utahensis, a taxon that nonetheless FNA recognizes at the species level. So the logic used is inconsistent. Kanab Yucca does also form intermediates with other varieties of Yucca angustissima in areas where they come into contact with one another.