Yucca gloriosa
| Yucca gloriosa | |
| Light: |   |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 7 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 6' |
| Width: | 4' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Yucca gloriosa (common name: spanish dagger)
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].
Cuttings can be made of the tops of old plants. These normally root quite easily in the growing season[2].
Cultivation: Thrives in any soil but prefers a sandy loam and full exposure to the south[2]. Plants are hardier when grown on poor sandy soils[3]. Established plants are very drought resistant[4]. Judging by its native habitat, this plant should tolerate maritime exposure[K].
Very cold hardy, tolerating temperatures down to at least -15°c[3], or to -25°c according to another report[5], but plants are subject to injury and decay by winter damp and snow[2].
A very ornamental plant[6], there are some named varieties[5]. Plants do not flower every year, requiring hot summers to initiate flowering[4]. The flowers are produced in the autumn and are often damaged by early frosts[7]. The scent of the flowers is most pronounced at night[8].
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[7]. However, the crown will usually produce a number of sideshoots before it dies and these will grow on to flower in later years[7].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].
Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[7]
Range: South-eastern N. America - North Carolina to Florida. Naturalized in S. Europe[9].
Habitat: Sand dunes and the borders of beaches of the seacoast[10].
Edibility: Fruit - raw or cooked. The fruit is up to 10cm long and 26mm wide[11]. The fruit is very rarely produced in the wild[10].
Flowers - raw or cooked. They are delicious raw, and can also be dried, crushed and used as a flavouring[12].
Flowering stem - cooked and used like asparagus[12].
Root - cooked. It can be dried, ground into a powder and made into a bread[13].
Medicinal: The fruit is purgative[14].
The root is detergent[14].
Usage: A fibre obtained from the leaves is used for making cloth, ropes, baskets and mats[15][16][10][17].
The roots are rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute[10].
Pollinators: Hand
Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Known Hazards: The roots contain saponins[18]. 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. ellacombei
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References
- ↑ Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
- ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
- ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
- ↑ Tutin, Tom et al.. Flora Europaea. Cambridge University Press, 1964.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Bird, Alfred. Growing from Seed Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan, 1990.
- ↑ Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ Buchanan, Rita. A Weavers Garden.
- ↑ Foster, Steven and Billy Tatum. Medicinal Plants of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin, 1990.