In a slump, Tucson’s ‘champion’ yucca will likely lose title

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — The largest soaptree yucca in the United States used to stand stock-straight at the edge of a wash west of Oracle Road in Catalina, its unusually long, bristled stalk rising almost 30 feet in the air. Now the record-holding plant is seriously stooped, prompting experts and admirers to worry about its future. Soaptree yuccas are native to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and northern Mexico, where they typically grow as small succulents in hot, dry conditions. The one w