In the end, they favored the yucca. It was seconded by the New Mexico Federation of Women's Clubs and was officially adopted on March 14, 1927. Yucca leaves grow to lengths up to about two feet. They look like giant pincushions sitting on the ground. From the center of this cluster of green spears grows a tall stalk bearing ten to fifteen greenish-white flowers.
Yuccas are native to North America and the West Indies and generally grow in arid areas.
They include the Joshua tree, which grows as much as thirty feet tall in the Mojave Desert. The yucca adopted by New Mexico is primarily a plant of the Great Plains. It grows from southeastern Alberta south to Missouri, Texas, and New Mexico. It lays its eggs in yucca flowers. Later, the larvae feed on the yucca's fruit.