Agaves, Yuccas, and Their Kin

Book excerpt: Until now, there has not been a single, full-color guide to some of the most recognizable genera of the southwestern United States: Agave, Dasylirion, Hechtia, Hesperaloe, Hesperoyucca, Nolina, and Yucca (the century plants, sotols, false agaves, chaparral yuccas, beargrasses, and yuccas). Some of the species treated in this guide have previously appeared scattered throughout a dozen other field guides, often split roughly between wildflowers and woody plants, or they have been confined to studies of small geographic regions. Still others have appeared virtually nowhere other than in the Flora of North America or in various state floras. Intended for the layperson, Agaves, Yuccas, and Their Kin covers all currently recognized taxa of these seven genera, in alphabetical order, ranging from Texas to the Pacific. Geographically, this guide covers all of the southwestern United States, encompassing southern California, southern Nevada, all of Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, plus western Texas, from Brownsville north through the Panhandle into Colorado, including the Edwards Plateau. It includes forms that may have been discounted at some time by various authors, as well as recently published or as yet unpublished taxa not previously presented in any other book. Complete with almost five hundred color photographs of species in various life cycle stages, Agaves, Yuccas, and Their Kin is a comprehensive, accessible, and much needed field guide for xerophile enthusiasts all across the Southwest.