Yucca elata
| Yucca elata | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 9 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 7' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Yucca elata (common name: soap tree)
Propagation: Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. Pre-soaking the seed for 24 hours in warm water may reduce the germination time. It usually germinates within 1 - 12 months if kept at a temperature of 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for at least their first two winters. Plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer and consider giving them some winter protection for at least their first winter outdoors - a simple pane of glass is usually sufficient[K]. Seed is not produced in Britain unless the flowers are hand pollinated.
Root cuttings in late winter or early spring. Lift in April/May and remove small buds from base of stem and rhizomes. Dip in dry wood ashes to stop any bleeding and plant in a sandy soil in pots in a greenhouse until established[1].
Division of suckers in late spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is best to pot up smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a greenhouse or cold frame until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the following spring.
Cultivation: Thrives in any soil but prefers a sandy loam and full exposure to the south[2][3]. Plants are hardier when grown on poor sandy soils[3]. Established plants develop a very deep, branching root system and are very drought resistant[4][3].
Plants are not very hardy in Britain, requiring greenhouse protection according to some reports[5][3] whilst another report says that they are hardy to about -30°c[6].
A slow-growing and fairly long-lived plant, some specimens may be 300 years old[7]. In the plants native environment, its flowers can only be pollinated by a certain species of moth. This moth cannot live in Britain and, if fruit and seed is required, hand pollination is necessary. This can be quite easily and successfully done using something like a small paint brush.
Individual crowns are monocarpic, dying after flowering[8]. However, the crown will usually produce a number of sideshoots before it dies and these will grow on to flower in later years[8].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].
Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[8]
Range: Southern N. America - Texas. Arizona, northern Mexico.
Habitat: Mesas, desert washes, plains and desert grasslands, and in deserts, normally between 500 - 2000 metres[7].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[9][10][11]. The fruit is a dry capsule up to 5cm long and 36mm wide[7].
Seedpods[10]. We are not sure how this differs from the fruit but one report mentions edible fruit as well as an edible seedpod.
Flowers - raw or cooked[9][10][12]. Delicious raw, they can also be dried, crushed and used as a flavouring[6]. The flowers are boiled and eaten as a vegetable[12]. Used in preserves[11].
Flowering stem - cooked and used like asparagus[6]. The stems were slow baked for several hours, then dried and broken into pieces to store. They would be soaked in water to soften them before being eaten[12].
Usage: The leaves, or a fibre obtained from them, is used for making ropes and mats[4][13][10][12].
The leaves can be woven into shallow or tray baskets[12]. The leaf has also been used as a binding element in coarse coiled basketry[12].
The roots have a red core and have been used to ornament baskets[12].
The roots are rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute for washing the hair, body, clothes etc[4][10][12]. Also used as a foaming agent in beer[11]. A slick soap-like fluid in the trunk has been used as a substitute for soap[7].
Wood - light, soft and spongy[4].
Pollinators: Hand
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
In Leaf: Evergreen
Seed Ripens: Early Fall-Mid Fall
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The roots contain saponins[14]. Whilst saponins are quite toxic to people, they are poorly absorbed by the body and so tend to pass straight through. They are also destroyed by prolonged heat, such as slow baking in an oven. Saponins are found in many co
Also Known As: Y. radiosa.
Links
References
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Pesman, M. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S King, 1962.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.