Giant Yucca BW
by Joseph Hollingsworth
Title
Giant Yucca BW
Artist
Joseph Hollingsworth
Medium
Photograph - Digital
Description
Although it can grow up to 30 ft. in height, with a spread to 15 ft., it is usually less than 20 ft. in height. It may have a thick, single trunk or be multi-trunked resulting from a thickened, inflated, trunk-like lower base similar to an elephant's foot. The leaves are strap-like, spineless and up to 4 ft. in length. White flowers are produced in the summer, followed by brown, fleshy fruits which are oval and up to 1 in long.
Yuccas are widely grown as ornamental plants in gardens. Many species also bear edible parts, including fruits, seeds, flowers, flowering stems, and more rarely roots. References to yucca root as food often stem 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. In rural Appalachian areas, species such as Yucca filamentosa are referred to as "meat hangers". The tough, fibrous leaves with their sharp-spined tips were used to puncture meat and knotted to form a loop with which to hang meat for salt curing or in smoke houses.
Uploaded
June 11th, 2015
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