Could somebody please help me identify this plant and the cause of the leaves turning brown. Thanks Located in Gilbert AZ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v643/MEATLOAF2/100_1000.jpg
That's a Yucca. Can't say which variety. The more mature leaves do turn yellow, then brown and shrivel, but the pattern of brown leaves shown in your pictures isn't the same as natural maturation of the foliage.
Half-dead leaves like these I would expect to indicate a problem, normal dying away due to aging of leaves I would expect to look different - although I won't swear that the latter isn't what is taking place here. Some common causes of partial leaf death (burning) of cultivated plants generally are infestations (mites, bacteria, fungi), mineral salts in irrigation water, and sometimes even nutrient deficiencies. Yuccas grown up here must tend to quickly drop old, spent leaves making trimming not often necessary to maintain acceptable appearance. Either that or the locals are so vigilant about tidying them up that old, clinging leaves aren't seen much for that reason.
Thanks for all the help. I thought it was getting too much water so I shut off the irrigation head supplying water to it and it started to look worse. I decided to trim off all the dead and dying leaves and turn the water on again, I'll see what happens now.