yucca

The natural distribution range of the genus Yucca (49 species and 24 subspecies) covers a vast area of the Americas. The genus is represented throughout Mexico and extends into Guatemala (Yucca guatemalensis). It also extends to the north through Baja California in the west, northwards into the southwestern United States, through the drier central states as far north as southern Alberta in Canada (Yucca glauca ssp. albertana).

Yucca is also native northward to the coastal lowlands and dry beach scrub of the coastal areas of the southeastern United States, along the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic States from coastal Texas to Maryland.

Yuccas have adapted to an equally vast range of climatic and ecological conditions. They are found in rocky deserts and badlands, in prairies and grassland, in mountainous regions, woodlands, in coastal sands (Yucca filamentosa), and even in subtropical and semitemperate zones. Several species occur in humid tropical zones (Yucca lacandonica) but most species occur in arid conditions, with the deserts of North America being regarded as the center of diversity for the genus.Clary, K. H., & Simpson, B. B. (1995). Systematics and character evolution of the genus Yucca (Agavaceae): Evidence from morphology and molecular analyses. Botanical Sciences, (56), 77 - 88. https://doi.org/10.17129/botsci.1466

Yuccas have a very specialized, mutualistic pollination system; being pollinated by yucca moths (family Prodoxidae); the insect transfers the pollen from the stamens of one plant to the stigma of another, and at the same time lays an egg in the flower; the moth larva then feeds on some of the developing seeds, always leaving enough seed to perpetuate the species. Certain species of the yucca moth have evolved antagonistic features against the plant. They do not assist in the plant's pollination efforts while continuing to lay their eggs in the plant for protection.{{cite journal|last1=Segraves|first1=Kari A.|last2=Althoff|first2=David M.|last3=Pellmyr|first3=Olle |name-list-style=amp |title=The evolutionary ecology of cheating: does superficial oviposition facilitate the evolution of a cheater yucca moth?|journal=Ecological Entomology|date=1 October 2008|volume=33|issue=6|pages=765–770|doi=10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01031.x|bibcode=2008EcoEn..33..765S |s2cid=55871573}}

Yucca species are the host plants for the caterpillars of the yucca giant-skipper (Megathymus yuccae),{{cite web |url=http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in800 |first=Jaret C |last=Daniels |title=Yucca Giant-Skipper Butterfly, Megathymus yuccae (Boisduval & Leconte) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) |work=Electronic Data Information Source |publisher=University of Florida IFAS Extension |access-date=2010-06-07}} ursine giant-skipper (Megathymus ursus),{{cite web |url=http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=2192 |title=Ursine Giant-Skipper Megathymus ursus Poling, 1902 |publisher=Butterflies and Moths of North America |access-date=2010-06-07 |archive-date=2010-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615134049/http://butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=2192 |url-status=dead }} and Strecker's giant-skipper (Megathymus streckeri).{{cite web |url=http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=2191 |title=Strecker's Giant-Skipper Megathymus streckeri (Skinner, 1895) |publisher=Butterflies and Moths of North America |access-date=2010-06-07 |archive-date=2010-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615134819/http://butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=2191 |url-status=dead }}

File:Joshua Tree At Grapevine Springs Ranch AZ.png with thick trunk at Grapevine Springs Ranch, AZ]]

File:Yucca aloifolia fruits-Clapiers-5162~2016 01 03.JPG.]] Beetle herbivores include yucca weevils, in the Curculionidae.

Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Many species also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems,{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=tb_qBpULHKcC |title= The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America |first=François |last=Couplan |year=1998 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |isbn= 978-0-87983-821-8}} and (more rarely) roots. References to yucca root as food often arise from confusion with the similarly pronounced, but botanically unrelated, yuca, also called cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta). Roots of soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) are high in saponins and are used as a shampoo in Native American rituals. Dried yucca leaves and trunk fibers have a low ignition temperature, making the plant desirable for use in starting fires via friction. The stem (when dried) that sports the flowers is often used in conjunction with a sturdy piece of cedar for fire-making.{{cite encyclopedia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=HlwUo0IccoMC |editor= David Wescott |first=Dick |last=Baugh |title=the Miracle of Fire by Friction |encyclopedia=Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills |edition= 10 |year= 1999 |isbn= 978-0-87905-911-8 |pages= 32–33}}

In rural Appalachian areas, species such as Yucca filamentosa are referred to as "meat hangers". With their sharp-spined tips, the tough, fibrous leaves were used to puncture meat and knotted to form a loop with which to hang meat for salt curing or in smokehouses. The fibers can be used to make domestic items

{{cite book

|last1 = Buchanan

|first1 = Rita

|date = 1 January 1999

|orig-date = 1987

|chapter = Plant Fibers for Spinning and Stuffing

|title = A Weaver's Garden: Growing Plants for Natural Dyes and Fibers

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OTEREwtL6dIC

|location = Mineola, New York

|publisher = Courier Corporation

|pages = 51–52

|isbn = 9780486407128

|access-date = 26 September 2023

|quote = Yucca leaves, and fibers derived from them, were some of the first plant materials used by early man in North America. Long before early hunters and gatherers settled down to building villages or raising crops, they already were making baskets, fishnets, carrying bags, sandals and mats from yucca and other native plant fibers. In the Southwest, yucca leaves are still used to make round trays and baskets. [...] During World War II, researchers studied the possibility of harvesting fibers from existing wild populations of yucca in the Southwest [...]. [...] Yucca fibers vary in length and fineness depending on the species, but in general they are softer and more flexible than sisal or agave fibers. [...] Hand-processed yucca fibers can be spun into fine yarns for use in weaving, braiding or twining.

}}

or for manufacturing cordage,

{{cite book

|author1 = United States Department of Agriculture

|author-link1 = United States Department of Agriculture

|year = 1880

|chapter = Vegetable Fibers

|title = Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for the year 1879

|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1LpMAAAAMAAJ

|location = Washington

|publisher = U.S. Government Printing Office

|page = 599

|access-date = 26 September 2023

|quote = [...] specimens of yucca cordage and coarse 'cloth' (matting) from Y. filamentosa [...].

}}

be it sewing-thread or rope.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}

Yucca extract is also used as a foaming agent in some beverages such as root beer and soda.{{Cite web |title=Yucca: Health Benefits, Side Effects, Uses, Dose & Precautions |url= https://www.rxlist.com/yucca/supplements.htm |access-date= 2023-01-28 |website= RxList |language= en}}{{Cite web |title=FOAMATION |url= https://www.ingredion.com/content/ingredion/na/us/Ingredients/ProductPages/FOAMATION.html |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=www.ingredion.com}}

Yucca powder and sap are derived from the logs of the plant; such extracts can be produced by mechanical squeezing and subsequent evaporation of the sap, and are widely used in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals Bononi, M., Guglielmi, G., Rocchi, P., & Tateo, F. (2013). First data on the antimicrobial activity of Yucca filamentosa L. bark extracts. Italian Journal of Food Science, 25(2), 238–238.

The flower petals are commonly eaten in Central America, but the plant's reproductive organs (the anthers and ovaries) are first removed because of their bitterness.{{cite book |editor1-last= Prance |editor1-first= Ghillean |editor2-last= Nesbitt |editor2-first= Mark |last1= Pieroni |first1= Andrea |author-link= Andrea Pieroni |date= 2005 |title= The Cultural History of Plants |publisher= Routledge |page= 33 |isbn= 0415927463}} The petals are blanched for 5 minutes, and then cooked a la mexicana (with tomato, onion, chili) or in tortitas con salsa (egg-battered patties with green or red sauce). In Guatemala, they are boiled and eaten with lemon juice.

In El Salvador, the tender tips of stems are eaten and known locally as cogollo de izote.

The most common houseplant yucca is Yucca gigantea.{{Cite web|title=Yucca: the November 2020 Houseplant of the Month|date=December 2020 |url=https://laidbackgardener.blog/2020/12/01/yucca-the-november-2020-houseplant-of-the-month/|url-status=}}

Yuccas are widely grown as architectural plants providing a dramatic accent to landscape design. They tolerate a range of conditions but are best grown in full sun in subtropical or mild temperate areas. In gardening centres and horticultural catalogues, they are usually grouped with other architectural plants such as cordylines and phormiums.{{cite book|title=RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants|year=2008|publisher=Dorling Kindersley|location=United Kingdom|isbn=978-1405332965|pages=1136}}

Several species of yucca can be grown outdoors in temperate climates, including:-

{{div col|colwidth=15em}}

• Yucca filamentosa
• Yucca flaccida
• Yucca glauca
• Yucca gloriosa
• Yucca recurvifolia
• Yucca rostrata

{{div col end}}

The yucca flower is the state flower of New Mexico in the southwest United States. No species name is given in the citation; however, the New Mexico Centennial Blue Book from 2012 references the soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) as one of the more widespread species in New Mexico.{{#tag:ref|No species name is listed in state statutes, however the New Mexico Centennial Blue Book from 2012 references the soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) as one of the more widespread species in New Mexico.|group=N}}

The Yucca flower is also the national flower of El Salvador, where it is known as {{Lang|es|flor de izote}}.{{Cite web|title=maquilishuat tree {{!}} plant {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/plant/maquilishuat-tree|access-date=2021-11-23|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}

{{As of|2012|February}}, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families recognizes 49 species of Yucca and several hybrids:{{Citation |title=World Checklist of Selected Plant Families |publisher=The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |url=http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/home.do |access-date=2012-02-23 }}, search for "Yucca"

A number of other species previously classified in Yucca are now classified in the genera Dasylirion, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Hesperoyucca, and Nolina.

From 1897 to 1907, Carl Ludwig Sprenger created and named 122 Yucca hybrids.

File:Joshuatreescape.jpg|Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia), growing in the Mojave Desert

File:DirkvdM green on blue plant.jpg|Unknown species near Orosí, Costa Rica

File:Yucca-closeup.JPG|Yucca near Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

File:Yucca.jpg|Yucca harrimaniae also known as Harriman's yucca

File:Section Yucca Series Faxonianae Yucca faxoniana fh 1183.30 TX en B.JPG|Yucca faxoniana in Texas, with mature fruits

File:Section Yucca (formerly Sarcocarpa) Series Treculianae Yucca schidigera fh 1183.9 NV en B.jpg| Yucca schidigera in Nevada, in full bloom

{{Reflist|group=N}}

{{Reflist|30em}}

;General

• Fritz Hochstätter (Hrsg.): Yucca (Agavaceae). Band 1 Dehiscent-fruited species in the Southwest and Midwest of the USA, Canada, and Baja California , Selbst Verlag, 2000. {{ISBN|3-00-005946-6}}
• Fritz Hochstätter (Hrsg.): Yucca (Agavaceae). Band 2 Indehiscent-fruited species in the Southwest, Midwest, and East of the USA, Selbst Verlag. 2002. {{ISBN|3-00-009008-8}}
• Fritz Hochstätter (Hrsg.): Yucca (Agavaceae). Band 3 Mexico , Selbst Verlag, 2004. {{ISBN|3-00-013124-8}}

{{Commons}}

{{Wikispecies}}

• {{Wiktionary-inline|Yucca}}
• [http://www.yuccaagavaceae.com/species.html Yucca species and their Common names - Fritz Hochstätter]
• [http://nxt.ella.net/NXT/gateway.dll?f=templates$fn=default.htm$vid=nm:all New Mexico Statutes and Court Rules: State Flower] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022195306/http://nxt.ella.net/NXT/gateway.dll?f=templates$fn=default.htm$vid=nm:all |date=2013-10-22 }}
• {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Yucca|short=x}}

{{US state flowers}}

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Category:Agavoideae

Category:Asparagaceae genera

Category:North American desert flora

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus

Category:Saponaceous plants

Category:Vegetable fibers

Category:Fiber plants