Tall 'Spanish daggers' stand in the Big Bend desert, their limbs extended in expressive gestures. Another variety - the Great Plains or "soapweed' species - dots the Llano Estacado.

Yucca plants are found across much of the Americas. But they flourish in West Texas, and are among the most striking of plants in our plains and deserts.

They're also part of one of nature's truly remarkable pairs. Yuccas and yucca moths are entirely dependent on one another. In the weeks to come, the drama of that bond will play out in the West Texas night.

Charles Valentine Riley was the first to study it deeply, in the 1870s. He was awed.

“She works with a vigor that would indicate combined pl... Hosted by for KRTS