Weakleaf yucca resembles Adam’s needle, but has less rigid leaves, straight fibers on the leaf edges and somewhat shorter flower clusters. The leaves are 1 to 1¾ foot long and 1 to 1½ inch wide and bend downwards above the middle.

Cultivars and Varieties: ‘Golden Sword’ has a green margin and yellow center, while in ‘Bright Edge,’ the color patterns are reversed.

SPANISH DAGGER (Yucca gloriosa)

Mature Height/Spread: Spanish dagger is much like Spanish bayonet. This evergreen shrub is generally multi-trunked and grows to a height of 8 to 10 feet. It produces a single, thick, fleshy stem that is crowned with stiff, straight, 1½ to 2 feet long and 2 to 3 inches wide. The leaf points are soft and will not penetrate skin. In late summer, creamy white, 4-inch diameter flowers appear.

BEAR GRASS (Yucca smalliana)

Mature Height/Spread: Bear grass resembles Adam’s needle, but has narrower, flatter leaves and smaller, individual flowers. Wild plants of bear grass are found in sandy soil around South Carolina and are spectacular when in bloom. The tall spikes of bell-shaped, creamy-white flowers last for two or three weeks and perfume gardens with evening fragrance. The evergreen clumps of soft leaves do not present a hazard like Spanish bayonet.

CURVE-LEAF YUCCA (Yucca recurvifolia)

Mature Height/Spread: The single, unbranched trunk of curve-leaf yucca grows 6 to 10 feet tall. With age the trunk may branch lightly. The shrub can be cut back to stay single-trunked. It spreads by offsets into large groups. The blue-gray-green leaves are 2 to 3 feet long and 2 inches wide, and they bent down sharply. The leaf tips are spined, but they bend to touch. They are not dangerous. In late spring or early summer large, white flowers appear in loose, open clusters, 3 to 5 feet tall.