Spanish bayonet

American  

noun

1. any of certain plants belonging to the genus Yucca, of the agave family, having narrow, spine-tipped leaves and a cluster of white flowers.

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Spanish bayonet British  

noun

1. any of several American liliaceous plants of the genus Yucca, esp Y. aloifolia, that have a tall woody stem, stiff pointed leaves, and large clusters of white flowers: cultivated for ornament See also Adam's-needle

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Etymology

Origin of Spanish bayonet

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; in allusion to its tropical American origin

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Spanish bayonet

“It is not very costly,” he said, adding that a vegetation barrier of Spanish bayonet, a plant known for its pointy and sharp leaves, would make for “quite a greeting” to any future intruders.

From US News ● Sep. 30, 2014

A Spanish bayonet pricked her in the arm, and she made a monosyllabic exclamation in which there was more anger than pain.

From We Three by Henry Hutt

Cactus and Spanish bayonet harassed him like malignant creatures; skeleton ocatillas and bristling yuccas imposed thorny barriers before him.

From When the West Was Young by Frederick R. (Frederick Ritchie) Bechdolt

Yucca Mohavensis, commonly called "wild date," or "Spanish bayonet," is more widely distributed within our borders than either of our other species.

From The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits by Mary Elizabeth Parsons

The camp was in a bend of the Del Norte, in a glade surrounded by tall cotton-woods, whose smooth trunks rose vertically out of a thick underwood of palmettoes and Spanish bayonet.

From The Scalp Hunters by F.A. Stewart

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