Any of various evergreen plants of the genus Yucca, native to the warmer regions of North America, having often tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of white flowers.
[From New Latin Iucca, genus name, from Spanish yuca, cassava, from Taino.]
yucca
Dictionary:
yuc·ca (yŭk'ə)  |
n.
Any of various evergreen plants of the genus Yucca, native to the warmer regions of North America, having often tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of white flowers.
Any of various evergreen plants of the genus Yucca, native to the warmer regions of North America, having often tall stout stems and a terminal cluster of white flowers.
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| Alternative Medicine Encyclopedia: Yucca |
Description
The yucca plant is native to the high deserts of the southwestern United States and Mexico. It is also found less commonly in parts of the eastern United States and West Indies. Extracts from the plant's root are used in alternative medicine as a soap and as an herbal dietary supplement. The yucca has at least 40 species, including Yucca filamentosa, the most common type, Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree), Yucca aloifolia (Spanish bayonet), and Yucca gloriosa (Spanish dagger). Two other species, Yucca baccata and Yucca glauca, are called soap plant because their roots are especially good for making soap.
Yucca plants are tree-like succulents of the lily family (Liliaceae) with stemless stiff, pointed leaves that end in a sharp needle. The Joshua tree, the namesake of Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs, California, is believed to have been named by Mormon settlers because the plant's angular branches resembled the outstretched arms of Joshua leading them out of the desert. The yucca flower is a series of white or purple blossoms on a long stalk.
General Use
Native American tribes in the southwestern United States and Northern Mexico found numerous uses for the yucca, dating back hundreds of years. Several tribes, including the Western Apaches on the Fort Apache Reservation in Arizona, use the plant today. The most common use seems to be for hygiene. Roots of the yucca baccata are pounded to remove extracts that are made into shampoo and soap. The Apaches also use yucca leaf fibers to make dental floss and rope. Historically, Western Apaches mixed ground juniper berries with yucca fruit to make a gravy. They also made a fermented drink from juniper berries and yucca fruit pounded to a pulp and soaked in water. Other Native American groups used yucca soap to treat dandruff and hair loss.
Native Americans also used yucca plants for a variety of other non-medical purposes, including making sandals, belts, cloth, baskets, cords, and mats. Such uses can still be found today among Hopi, Papago, and Ute Indians. The Zuni used a mixture of soap made from yucca sap and ground aster to wash newborn babies to stimulate hair growth. Navajos would tie a bunch of yucca fibers together and use it as a brush for cleaning metates.
The primary medical use of yucca is to treat arthritis and joint pain and inflammation. Native Americans used sap from the leaves in poultices or baths to treat skin lesions, sprains, inflammation, and bleeding. Teas made from yucca mixed together with other herbs are still brewed by folk healers in northern New Mexico to treat asthma and headaches. Constituents of the yucca are used today to treat people with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. The plant's medical properties are found in saponins, precursors of cortisone, which prevent the release of toxins from the intestines that restrict normal cartilage formation. Saponins are produced naturally in the body by the adrenal glands. It is believed yucca works best for arthritis when taken over an extended period of time.
Yucca extract is used to treat a variety of other conditions, including migraine headaches, colitis, ulcers, wounds, gout, bursitis, hypertension (high blood pressure), and high LDL cholesterol (also called bad cholesterol). Liver, kidney, and gallbladder disorders are also treated with yucca extract. More recently, researchers have found that resveratrol, a compound found in yucca extract as well as in red wine, inhibits the aggregation or clumping of blood platelets. This finding suggests that yucca extract may be useful in preventing blood clots.
A number of commercial uses for yucca extract have been found, including adding it to root beer, alcoholic beer, and cocktail mixers as a foaming agent. The bittersweet dark brown extract is also used as an additive in ice cream and other foods.
The extract of the Yucca schidigera (Mojave or Mo-have yucca) is also used as an additive in natural pet foods. It is reported to speed up bowel elimination, reduce fecal and urine odor, and improve digestion in dogs and cats. It can also be added to pet food as a spray or drops. Several studies also show that when added to animal feed, Yucca schidigera extract can reduce noxious ammonia gas in the waste products of poultry, pigs, cows, and horses. A decrease in ammonia levels can increase egg production in chickens and milk production in dairy cattle.
Preparations
The standard dosage of concentrated yucca saponins is two to four tablets or capsules a day. Yucca concentrate is also available as a tea, with the usual dosage being 3–5 cups a day. Capsules and tablets are commonly sold in doses of 500 milligrams. A bottle of 30, 60, 90, or 100 units costs $6–10 and can usually be found in health food stores.
Precautions
Since yucca has rarely been studied in a scientific setting, it is not known whether it is safe in children, pregnant or lactating women, or people with a history of severe kidney or liver diseases, heart disease, or cancer. It appears to be nontoxic to other mammals, including such household pets as cats and dogs.
Side Effects
Saponins extracted from yucca plants are generally considered safe when used in traditional doses and forms based on several hundred years of use by Native Americans, both as food and medicine. In recent years, the only reported minor problems are rare cases of diarrhea and nausea. Some people who are sensitive to plant allergens may develop a mild skin rash from contact with yucca sap.
Interactions
Long-term internal use of yucca extract may interfere with the absorption of such fat-soluble vitamins as A, D, E, and K. As of 2002, however, no interactions between yucca and standard prescription medications have been reported.
Resources
Books
Foster, Steven and Varro E. Tyler. Tyler's Honest Herbal: A Sensible Guide to the Use of Herbs and Related Remedies. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, Inc. 1999.
Heinerman, John. Aloe Vera, Jojoba, and Yucca. Chicago, IL: Keats Publishing, 1990.
Kavasch, E. Barrie, and Karen Baar. American Indian Healing Arts: Herbs, Rituals, and Remedies for Every Season of Life. New York: Bantam Books, 1999.
Miller, Lucinda G., and Wallace J. Murray, eds. Herbal Medicinals: A Clinician's Guide. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, Inc. 1999.
Null, Gary. Secrets of the Sacred White Buffalo. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall. 1998.
Robbers, James E. and Varro E. Tyler. Tyler's Herbs of Choice: The Therapeutic Use of Phytomedicinals. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, Inc. 1998.
Periodicals
Miyakoshi, M., et al. "Antiyeast Steroidal Saponins from Yucca Schidigera (Mohave Yucca), a New Anti-Food-Deteriorating Agent." Journal of Natural Products (March 2000): 332-338.
Nyerges, Christopher. "Naturally Clean: How to Find and Use Some of Nature's Most Common Soaps." Mother Earth News (August-September 1997): 18-19.
Olas, B., B. Wachowicz, A. Stochmal, and W. Oleszek. "Anti-Platelet Effects of Different Phenolic Compounds from Yucca schidigera Roezl. Bark." Platelets 13 (May 2002): 167-173.
Vanderjagt, T. J., R. Ghattas, D. J. Vanderjagt, et al. "Comparison of the Total Antioxidant Content of 30 Widely Used Medicinal Plants of New Mexico." Life Sciences 70 (January 18, 2002): 1035-1040.
Wang, Y., et al. "Effect of Steroidal Saponin from Yucca Schidigera Extract on Ruminal Microbes." Journal of Applied Microbiology (May 2000): 887-896.
Organizations
American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP). 3201 New Mexico Avenue, NW, Suite 350, Washington, DC 20016. (202) 895-1392.
Southwest School of Botanical Medicine. P. O. Box 4565, Bisbee, AZ 85603. (520) 432-5855.
Other
[Article by: Ken R. Wells; Rebecca J. Frey, PhD]
| Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: yucca |
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Yucca (credit: Courtesy of the New Mexico Department of Development)
Yucca (credit: Courtesy of the New Mexico Department of Development)
For more information on yucca, visit Britannica.com.
| Columbia Encyclopedia: yucca |
yucca (yŭk'ə), any plant of the genus Yucca, stiff-leaved stemless or treelike succulents of the family Liliaceae (lily family), native chiefly to the tablelands of Mexico and the American Southwest but found also in the E United States and the West Indies. Yuccas in flower produce a large stalk of white or purplish blossoms. They are pollinated by the yucca moth, and in its absence they rarely fruit-a striking example of interdependence, since the moth, which lays its eggs during pollination and whose larvae feed on some of the developing seeds, cannot reproduce without the yucca. The leaves are usually stiff and spearlike, often with marginal threads. Several species are known as Adam's-needle, particularly those that are hardy and are cultivated in the North, most common of which is Y. filamentosa. The Joshua tree (Y. brevifolia) is a picturesque treelike species of desert regions. Mormons crossing the California deserts are said to have so named it because the grotesquely angular branches looked like the outstretched arms of a Joshua leading them out of the wilderness. The Spanish bayonet (Y. aloifolia) is another that is treelike in form, and the Spanish dagger (Y. gloriosa) is stemless or has a short trunk. The fruits and sometimes the flowers of several species of yucca were used as food by Native Americans. Certain species, particularly Y. baccata and Y. glauca, are called soap plant because of the use of their roots for soap. The fibers of some kinds have been utilized. A yucca is the state flower of New Mexico. Yuccas are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, order Liliales, family Liliaceae.
| Wikipedia: Yucca |
This article is about the genus comprising species of perennials, shrubs, and trees. For the root vegetable, see Cassava. For other uses, see Yucca (disambiguation).
| Yucca | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Yucca filamentosa in New Zealand | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Agavaceae |
| Genus: | Yucca L. |
| Species | |
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see text |
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The yuccas comprise the genus Yucca of 40-50 species of perennials, shrubs, and trees in the agave family Agavaceae, notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal clusters of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry (arid) parts of North America, Central America, South America, and the West Indies.
Yuccas have a very specialized pollination system, being pollinated by the yucca moth; the insect purposefully 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, but far from all.
Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Many yuccas also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems, and more rarely roots, but use of these is sufficiently limited that references to yucca as food more often than not stem from confusion with the similarly spelled but botanically unrelated yuca.
Dried yucca has the lowest ignition temperature of any wood, making it desirable for fire-starting.[citation needed]
The "yucca flower" is the state flower of New Mexico. No species name is given in the citation.
Contents |
Distribution
The natural distribution range of the genus Yucca (49 species and 24 subspecies) covers a vast area of north- and central America. From Baja California in the west, northwards into the southwestern USA, through the drier central states as far north as Canada (Alberta province, Yucca glauca ssp. albertana), and moving east along the Gulf of Mexico, and then north again, through the Atlantic coastal and inland neighbouring states. To the south, the genus is represented throughout Mexico and extends into Guatemala (Yucca elephantipes). Yuccas have adapted to an equally vast range of climatic and ecological conditions. They are to be found in rocky deserts and badlands, in prairies and grassland, in mountainous regions, in light woodland, in coastal sands (Yucca filamentosa), and even in sub-tropical and semi-temperate zones, although these are nearly always arid to semi-arid.
Species
| Yucca aloifolia | Aloe yucca, Spanish Bayonet | ||
| Yucca angustissima | Narrowleaf yucca, Spanish Bayonet | ||
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Yucca brevifolia | Joshua tree |
| Yucca constricta | Buckley's yucca | ||
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Yucca baccata | Banana yucca, datil |
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Yucca decipiens | Palma China |
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Yucca elata | Soaptree yucca |
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Yucca filamentosa | Spoonleaf yucca, Filament yucca, or Adam's Needle |
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Yucca filifera | Palma Chuna yucca | |
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Yucca flaccida | Flaccid leaf yucca | |
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Yucca glauca | Great Plains yucca |
| Yucca gloriosa | Moundlily yucca, Adam's needle, Spanish Dagger | ||
| Yucca grandiflora | Sahuiliqui yucca | ||
| Yucca guatemalensis | Spineless yucca | ||
| Yucca harrimaniae | Harriman's yucca | ||
| Yucca intermedia | Intermediate Yucca | ||
| Yucca jaliscensis | Izote | ||
| Yucca kanabensis | Kanab yucca | ||
| Yucca lacandonica | Tropical yucca | ||
| Yucca madrensis | Soco yucca | ||
| Yucca nana | Dwarf yucca | ||
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Yucca pallida | Pale yucca | |
| Yucca periculosa | Izote | ||
| Yucca recurvifolia | Curve-leaf yucca | ||
| Yucca rigida | Blue yucca | ||
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Yucca rostrata | Beaked yucca, Big Bend yucca | |
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Yucca rupicola | Texas yucca, or Twist-leaf yucca | |
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Yucca schidigera | Mojave yucca | |
| Yucca schottii | Hoary yucca or Mountain yucca | ||
| Yucca standleyi | |||
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Yucca thompsoniana | Thompson's Yucca | |
| Yucca thornberi | |||
| Yucca torreyi | Torrey yucca | ||
| Yucca treculiana | Texas bayonette, Trecul's yucca | ||
| Yucca valida | Datilillo | ||
| Yucca yucatana | Yucatan yucca |
A number of other species previously classified in Yucca are now classified in the genera Dasylirion, Furcraea, Hesperaloe, Hesperoyucca and Nolina.
Taxonomic arrangement
- Section Yucca formerly Sarcocarpa Engelm.
- Series Faxonianae Hochstätter
- Series Baccatae Hochstätter
- Yucca baccata Torr.
- Yucca baccata Torr. ssp. baccata
- Yucca baccata Torr. ssp. vespertina (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca baccata Torr. ssp. thornberi (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca confinis McKelvey
- Yucca endlichiana Trel.
- Yucca arizonica McKelvey
- Yucca baccata Torr.
- Series Treculianae Hochstätter
- Yucca grandiflora Gentry
- Yucca declinata Laferr.
- Yucca treculiana Carriere
- Yucca torreyi Shafer
- Yucca schidgera Roezl ex Ortgies
- Yucca schotti Engelm.
- Yucca capensis Lenz
- Yucca jaliscensis Trel.
- Yucca periculosa Baker
- Yucca mixtecana Garcia-Mend.
- Yucca decipiens Trel.
- Yucca valida Brandegee
- Yucca potosina Rzed.
- Yucca filifera Chabaud
- Series Gloriosae Hochstätter
- Series Yucca
- Yucca madrensis Gentry
- Yucca linearifolia Clary
- Yucca elephantipes Regel
- Yucca lacandonica Gomez-Pompa & Valdes
- Yucca aloifolia L.
- Yucca yucatana Engelm.
- Section Clistocarpa Engelm.
-
- Yucca brevifolia Engelm.)
- Yucca brevifolia Engelm. ssp. brevifolia
- Yucca brevifolia Engelm. ssp. jaegeriana (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca brevifolia Engelm. ssp. herbertii (Webber) Hochstätter
- Yucca brevifolia Engelm.)
-
- Section Chaenocarpa Engelm.
- Series Filamentosae Hochstätter
- Yucca filamentosa L.
- Yucca flaccida Haw.
- Series Rupicolae Hochstätter
- Yucca cernua Keith
- Yucca pallida McKelvey
- Yucca queretaroensis Pina Lujan
- Yucca reverchonii Trel.
- Yucca rigida (Engelm.) Trel.
- Yucca rostrata Engelm. ex Trel.
- Yucca rupicola Scheele
- Yucca thompsoniana Trel.
- Series Harrimaniae Hochstätter
- Series Glaucae (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel.
- Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel. ssp. angustissima
- Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel. ssp. toftiae (Welsh) Hochstätter
- Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel. ssp. kanabensis (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel. ssp. avia (Reveal) Hochstätter
- Yucca baileyi Wooton & Standl.
- Yucca baileyi Wooton & Standl. ssp. baileyi
- Yucca baileyi Wooton & Standl. ssp. intermedia (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca coahuilensis Matuda & Pinja Lujan
- Yucca elata Engelm.
- Yucca elata Engelm. ssp. elata
- Yucca elata Engelm. ssp. utahensis (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca elata Engelm. ssp. verdiensis (McKelvey) Hochstätter
- Yucca glauca Nutt.
- Yucca glauca Nutt. ssp. glauca
- Yucca glauca Nutt. ssp. stricta (Sims) Hochstätter
- Yucca glauca Nutt. ssp. albertana Hochstätter
- Yucca campestris McKelvey
- Yucca constricta Buckley
- Yucca arkansana Trel.
- Yucca arkansana Trel. ssp. arkansana
- Yucca arkansana Trel. ssp. louisianensis (Trel.) Hochstätter
- Yucca arkansana Trel. ssp. freemanni (Shinners) Hochstätter
- Yucca angustissima Engelm. ex Trel.
- Series Filamentosae Hochstätter
- Section Hesperoyucca Engelm.
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- Yucca whipplei Torr.
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Cultivars
In the years from 1897 to 1907, Carl Ludwig Sprenger created and named 122 Yucca hybrids.
Gallery
 Joshua Trees(Yucca brevifolia), growing in the Mojave Desert |
 Unknown species near Orosí, Costa Rica. |
 Yucca near Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. |
 Yucca Harrimaniae also known as Harriman's Yucca. |
 Yucca faxoniana in Texas, with mature fruits. |
_Series_Treculianae_Yucca_schidigera_fh_1183.9_NV_en_B.jpg) Yucca schidigera in Nevada, in full bloom. |
Trivia
 |
Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (January 2009) |
Because of their omnipresence in the southwestern United States, yuccas have lent their name to several places:
Yucca plants and Yucca moths have a Mutualistic relationship. Yucca plants are dependent on Yucca moths for pollination and Yucca moths can only lay their eggs in a Yucca plant's flower. The Yucca moth lays its eggs in the yucca plant at the same time pollinating it. The moth makes sure not to lay too many eggs in each flower to prevent the larva from eating all of the Yucca seeds. This is the Yucca plant's only means of pollination, as it cannot pollinate itself.[citation needed]
References
- 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
- M. & G. Irish, Agaves, Yuccas, and Related Plants: a Gardener's Guide (Timber Press, 2000). ISBN 0-88192-442-3
External links
- Yucca plant care
- Yucca species and their Common names - Fritz Hochstätter
- UVSC Herbarium - Yucca
- New Mexico Statutes and Court Rules: State Flower
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Mentioned in
- yucca moth
- Yucca (recipes)
- Fire by Friction (1983 Theater Film)
- Incurvariidae (invertebrate zoology)
- panicle
- Spanish bayonet (New World plants of the genus Yucca)
- filamentosus
- Joshua Tree National Park (national park, California)
- Adam's-needle (stemless or nearly stemless plants)
- amole
- bear grass
- Joshua tree (treelike plant)
- Yucca Mountain (mountain, United States)
- Sunset Carson Rides Again (1948 Western Film)
