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Yucca elata

Common name:	Soap Tree	Family:	Agavaceae
Author:	Engelm.	Botanical references:	82, 200
Synonyms:	Yucca radiosa (Trel.)
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:	Southern N. America - Texas. Arizona, northern Mexico.
Habitat:	Mesas, desert washes, plains and desert grasslands, and in deserts, normally between 500 - 2000 metres[229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Y. angustifolia var. radiosa[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Palmella [H], Palmilla [S], Soap Tree [E], Soaptree [H], Soaptree Yucca [S,DEN2,FEIS,B,P], Soapweed [H], Yucca, Soaptree [S],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	elata = high
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Century-plant family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Us

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 2m by 0.5m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 9. It is in leaf all year, in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from September to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Hand. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 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, By Walls, By South Wall, By West Wall.

Edible Uses

Flowers Fruit Seedpod Stem.

Fruit - raw or cooked[177, 181, 183]. The fruit is a dry capsule up to 5cm long and 36mm wide[229].
Seedpods[181]. 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[177, 181, 257]. Delicious raw, they can also be dried, crushed and used as a flavouring[164]. The flowers are boiled and eaten as a vegetable[257]. Used in preserves[183].
Flowering stem - cooked and used like asparagus[164]. 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[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

Basketry Fibre Soap.

The leaves, or a fibre obtained from them, is used for making ropes and mats[82, 169, 181, 257].
The leaves can be woven into shallow or tray baskets[257]. The leaf has also been used as a binding element in coarse coiled basketry[257].
The roots have a red core and have been used to ornament baskets[257].
The roots are rich in saponins and can be used as a soap substitute for washing the hair, body, clothes etc[82, 181, 257]. Also used as a foaming agent in beer[183]. A slick soap-like fluid in the trunk has been used as a substitute for soap[229].
Wood - light, soft and spongy[82].

Cultivation details

Thrives in any soil but prefers a sandy loam and full exposure to the south[11, 200]. Plants are hardier when grown on poor sandy soils[200]. Established plants develop a very deep, branching root system and are very drought resistant[82, 200].
Plants are not very hardy in Britain, requiring greenhouse protection according to some reports[1, 200] whilst another report says that they are hardy to about -30° c[164].
A slow-growing and fairly long-lived plant, some specimens may be 300 years old[229]. 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[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].
Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits[233]

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[78].
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.

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.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[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.
[S] Image from the Southwest School of Botanical Medicine
[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
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.

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.

[164] Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 4. Thompson and Morgan. 1990
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. A good article on Yuccas, one on Sagebrush (Artemesia spp) and another on Chaerophyllum bulbosum.

[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.

[181] Pesman. M. W. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S. King. Arizona. 1962
Very readable flora but rather lacking botanically. A few notes on useful plants.

[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.

[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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