[2] Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers.

They are native to the Americas and the Caribbean in a wide range of habitats, from humid rainforest and wet subtropical ecosystems to the hot and dry (arid) deserts and savanna.

They are found in rocky deserts and badlands, in prairies and grassland, in mountainous regions, woodlands, in coastal sands (Yucca filamentosa), and even in subtropical and semitemperate zones.

[8] Yuccas have a very specialized, mutualistic pollination system; being pollinated by yucca moths (family Prodoxidae); the insect transfers the pollen from the stamens of one plant to the stigma of another, and at the same time lays an egg in the flower; the moth larva then feeds on some of the developing seeds, always leaving enough seed to perpetuate the species.

References to yucca root as food often arise from confusion with the similarly pronounced, but botanically unrelated, yuca, also called cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta).

Dried yucca leaves and trunk fibers have a low ignition temperature, making the plant desirable for use in starting fires via friction.

[17][18] Yucca powder and sap are derived from the logs of the plant; such extracts can be produced by mechanical squeezing and subsequent evaporation of the sap, and are widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals [19] The flower petals are commonly eaten in Central America, but the plant's reproductive organs (the anthers and ovaries) are first removed because of their bitterness.

[20] The petals are blanched for 5 minutes, and then cooked a la mexicana (with tomato, onion, chili) or in tortitas con salsa (egg-battered patties with green or red sauce).