Still a Mystery

I mentioned my mystery Hesperaloe a few times in the past. It was sold only as "Giant". I could tell that was a Hesperaloe, but what kind? 

I knew it was not the common Red Yucca, Yucca parviflora, so asked the staff at the nursery and they said it was a Giant Red Yucca. Not really knowing if that response was correct, I bought the plant anyway because I liked the structure of the plant with thick filaments curling off the sides of the leafs. 

This is how the plant looked when I bought it in late 2012. I searched the internet and decided it was probably Hesperaloe funifera. I would just need to wait until it bloomed to confirm its identification.

Well, this year it finally bloomed and the flowers are white. I had to zoom in on the flowers because they are blooming about 8 feet above the ground.

I should have said were blooming 8 feet above the ground because flower stalk fell over the next day.

It looks like the hail that hit in mid-March damaged and weakened the stalk enough that it collapsed.

The good news is that the flowers are still blooming and they are much easier to see. 

I noticed that the flowers open at night and close in the morning. Could this be the night blooming Hesperaloe nocturna? I thought so until I did some internet searching. Hesperaloe nocturna does not have stiff, upright leaves like my plant. My plant looks most like Hesperaloe funifera. The thing that keeps me from making a firm ID is that I cannot find any references that Hesperaloe funifera is a night bloomer. Maybe there is another variety that I do not know about?

The mystery continues.