the species is still most widely known in the horticultural literature as "yucca elephantipes". the first mention of that name was by the german horticulturalist eduard von regel in february 1859. he claimed that a different species, "y. aloifolia", was sometimes known as "y. elephantipes" when grown in european gardens because of its thickened stem base. however, since he did not intend to offer "y. elephantipes" as the actual correct name, this was not a valid publication. in a major article on yuccas and allies in 1902, the american botanist william trelease also used the name "y. elephantipes", referring to regel's 1859 publication. this came too late though, as "y. gigantea" had by then already been established. "y. elephantipes" must therefore be regarded as an illegitimate name, according to the strict rules of the icn,