[4] Other names for the plant include Beaked yucca, Soyate and Palmita.

[5] Yucca thompsoniana has a trunk up to 1 m tall, branching above the ground.

Leaves are narrow and dagger-like, a bit glaucous, up to 35 cm long and 10 mm wide.

Flowers are white, about 4 cm long and appear in late March through early May.

[4][6] The plant was first collected in Chihuahua by John Bigelow in 1852 and was described by William Trelease in 1911.