Yucca glauca
| Yucca glauca | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 4 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 5' |
| Width: | 2' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
 | |
Yucca glauca (common name: soapweed)
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 most soils but prefers a sandy loam and full exposure to the south[2]. Dislikes chalky or peaty soils[3]. Can succeed in light shade[K]. Plants are hardier when grown on poor sandy soils[4]. Prefers a hot dry position and a poor soil[5]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[4].
Hardy to at least -30°c according to one report[6], whilst another one says that it is hardy to about -15°c[4].
A very ornamental plant[7], it rarely flowers unless in a dry sandy soil[8]. The scent of the flowers is most pronounced at night[9].
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[7].
Individual crowns are monocarpic, dying after flowering[10]. However, the crown will usually produce a number of sideshoots before it dies and these will grow on to flower in later years[10].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[4].
Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[10]
Range: Central N. America - Iowa to Texas and N. Dakota.
Habitat: Dry plains and sandy hills[11].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked[12][13][14][15][16]. Dry, with a bitter skin[17]. The fruit can be baked and either eaten immediately or formed into cakes and dried for later use[16]. The raw fruit can be dried for winter use[7][16]. The immature fruits are peeled, boiled and served with seasonings[18]. The soaked, cooked fruit can be made into a syrup and used like hot chocolate[16]. The fruit is up to 8cm long and 12mm wide[12].
Flowers and flower buds - raw or cooked[14][17]. Delicious raw, they can also be dried, crushed and used as a flavouring[6]. A delicious addition to the salad bowl, or used as a potherb[18].
Flowering stem - raw or cooked[19][17][15][16]. It can be cooked and used like asparagus[6]. The white inner portion of the stem is eaten[18].
Seedpods - cooked. They can be boiled or roasted and used as a vegetable[16].
The plant crowns have been roasted and eaten in times of food shortage[16].
Medicinal: A soap made from the crushed roots is said to be an effective treatment for dandruff and skin irritations[20][21].
A cold infusion of the root has been used to expedite the delivery of a child or the placenta[16]. The root is poulticed and applied to inflammations, wounds, bleeding cuts, sprains etc[21][16].
The rotten root can be crushed and boiled to make suds. Drinking these suds is said to induce the menopause in women, thereby rendering then infertile[16].
Usage: Both the leaves, and a fibre obtained from the leaves, can be used for making cloth, ropes and mats[22][23][14][24][17][25][16].
The leaves can be split and used to make baskets[16].
The leaves are used as paint brushes and brooms[13][17][26].
The leaves can be split and used as a temporary tying material[16].
The sharp points of the leaves have been used as needles[16].
The roots are rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute[24][17][27].
The soap obtained from the root makes a good hair shampoo[27], it is said to be effective against dandruff and also to act as a tonic to stop the hair falling out[20][16]. The shampoo also rids the body of lice and other parasites[16].
Pollinators: Hand
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates strong winds
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The roots contain saponins[21]. 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. angustifolia.
Links
References
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ Sanders, Thomas. Popular Hardy Perennials. Collingridge, 1926.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ Taylor, Jane. The Milder Garden. Dent, 1990.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Grey, Charles. Hardy Bulbs. Williams & Norgate, 1938.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Yanovsky, Elias. Food Plants of the North American Indians Publication 237. US Department of Agriculture.
- ↑ 16.00 16.01 16.02 16.03 16.04 16.05 16.06 16.07 16.08 16.09 16.10 16.11 16.12 16.13 16.14 16.15 Moerman, Daniel. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press, 1998.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 Harrington, Harold. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press, 1967.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. A Field Guide to North American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1982.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Weiner, Michael. Earth Medicine, Earth Food. Ballantine Books, 1980.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
- ↑ Lust, John. The Herb Book. Bantam Books, 1983.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ Balls, Edward. Early Uses of Californian Plants. University of California Press, 1975.
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.