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Yucca aloifolia

Common name:	Spanish Bayonet	Family:	Agavaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	11, 82, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The roots contain saponins[222]. 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 common foods such as beans[K]. Saponins are much more toxic to some creatures, such as fish, and hunting tribes have traditionally put large quantities of them in streams, lakes etc in order to stupefy or kill the fish[K].
Range:	Southeastern N. America - North Carolina to Florida, west to Louisiana. Naturalized in S. Europe[11]
Habitat:	Sand dunes of the coast, occasionally up to 60 km inland, in pine forests[82]. Also found on the margins of brackish marshes[229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Aloe Yucca [P,B], Bayoneta [E], Spanish Bayonet [H], Yucca [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Century-plant family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Dominican Republic Haiti Mexico

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 7.5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June, and the seeds ripen in September. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Flowers Fruit Stem.

Fruit - raw or cooked[257]. A thick, succulent mass of bitter-sweet juicy flesh[82]. The fruit is up to 10 cm long and 4cm wide[229].
Flowers - raw or cooked[177]. They are delicious raw, or can be dried, crushed and used as a flavouring. A crisp texture[183].
Flowering stem - peeled and boiled[177, 183]. Used like asparagus.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Purgative Salve.

The fruit is purgative[240].
The boiled and mashed root, mixed with oil, has been used as a salve in the treatment of various complaints[257].

Other Uses

Basketry Brush Fibre Soap String Varnish.

A fibre obtained from the leaves is used for making ropes, baskets and mats[169].
Narrow, split leaf strips have been used as sewing material for coiled plaques[257].
The leaves have been used in several types of basketry[257].
The leaf splints have been used as brushes to apply colour to pottery[257].
The leaves can be split and used as a temporary string[257].
The roots are rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute. They are crushed and then placed in water to form suds that are used in bathing and shampooing[257].
The juice from the plant has been used as a varnish[257].

Cultivation details

Thrives in any soil but prefers a sandy loam and full exposure to the south[11]. They can succeed in light shade[K]. Plants are hardier when grown on poor sandy soils[200]. Established plants are very drought resistant[11].
A very ornamental plant[1], it is only hardy in the mildest areas of Britain tolerating temperatures down to about -10° c if in a suitable site[11, 200]. It requires greenhouse protection in most of the country[1].
Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233].
The flowers of most members of this genus 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. This species, however, does not require the Yucca moth for pollination and will set fruit without hand pollination[11]. The flowers open at night[229] and are powerfully fragrant at this time[245].
Individual crowns are monocarpic, dying after flowering[233]. However, the crown will usually produce a number of sideshoots before it dies and these will grow on to flower in later years[233].
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[200].

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].
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[78].

Scent

Flowers: Fresh: The flowers are powerfully fragrant at night[245].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[222] Foster. S. & Duke. J. A. A Field Guide to Medicinal Plants. Eastern and Central N. America. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990 ISBN 0395467225
A concise book dealing with almost 500 species. A line drawing of each plant is included plus colour photographs of about 100 species. Very good as a field guide, it only gives brief details about the plants medicinal properties.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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