Spanish Bayonet, Banana yucca, Blue Yucca, Spanish Yucca
Yucca baccata
Family: Agavaceae
What it is like
Bloom Color: White. Main Bloom Time: Early summer, Early spring, Late summer, Late spring, Mid summer, Mid spring. Form: Rounded.
Yucca baccata is an evergreen Shrub growing to 0.9 m (3ft) at a slow rate. See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 7. It is in leaf all year, in flower in August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Hand. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerates strong winds but not maritime exposure.
Height (m): 0.9
Where it is found
Rocky slopes, pinyon, oak, and juniper woodlands, grasslands at elevations of 400 - 2500 metres.
South-western N. America - Colorado to Texas, California and Mexico.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
Australia, Central America, Mexico, North America, Tasmania, USA,
How it is used
Food
Rating: 4
Fully ripe fruit - raw, cooked or dried for winter use. A staple food for several native North American Indian tribes, the fruits are large, fleshy, sweet and palatable. The ovoid fruit is about 17cm long and 7cm wide. Considered to be a luxury by the native North American Indians, the fruits were often baked in ovens. The cooked fruit can be formed into cakes and then dried for later use. Large quantities of the fruit has caused diarrhoea in people who are not used to it. The dried fruit can be dissolved in water to make a drink. Flower buds - cooked. A soapy taste. The older flowers are best, they are rich in sugar. The flowers, harvested before the summer rains (which turn them bitter), have been used as a vegetable. Flowering stems - cooked. Harvested before the flowers open then roasted. Seed - cooked. It can be roasted and then ground into a powder and boiled. The tender crowns of the plants have been roasted and eaten in times of food shortage. The young leaves have been cooked as a flavouring in soups.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Stem: this often intergrades into leaves.
Medicine
Rating: 1
An infusion of the pulverized leaves has been used as an antiemetic to prevent vomiting. The fruits have been eaten raw as a laxative.
Antiemetic: Prevents vomiting.
Laxative: Stimulates bowel movements in a fairly gentle manner.
Other
Rating: 5
A fibre obtained from the leaves is used for making ropes, baskets and mats. The fibre can be braided into a good quality rope. The leaves can be reduced into fibre and then made into cloth. To obtain the fibre, the terminal spine and a section of the back of the leaf are removed and pounded to free the fibre from the fleshy portion of the leaf. Another method of obtaining the fibre was to fold the leaves into sections about 10cm long. The leaves were then boiled with a small quantity of cedar ashes. When sufficiently cooked, the leaves were placed in a bowl or basket and cooled, then youths and young women would peel off the epidermis and chew the leaves, starting at one end and finishing at the other. After chewing the leaves, the fibres were separated, straightened out and hung to dry. When required for weaving, they would first be soaked in water to soften them. The whole leaf is sometimes split into sections and then tied together by square knots to make a rope. The leaf can be used as a paint brush. Leaf slivers are used, the end being pounded to reveal the fibres. The leaves have also been used to make small brushes for pottery decoration. The leaf is used in basket making. Small roots have been used in making baskets. They have been used to produce a red pattern in baskets. The leaves can be split and then woven into mats. The leaves can be split and used as a temporary string. The leaf fibre has been braided into ropes. The terminal spines have been used as needles. The dried leaves have been boiled with gum, hardened, ground into a powder then mixed with water and used to make baskets waterproof. The roots are rich in saponins and can be used crushed and then soaked in water to release the suds for use as a soap. It makes a good hair wash and can also be used on the body and for washing clothes. A soap can also be obtained from the leaves and stems.
Basketry: Plant used in making baskets and other items such as chairs. Includes plants that are only used as an ornamental addition.
Brush: Used for cleaning clothes, as a paintbrush etc.
Fibre: Used for making cloth, rope, paper etc.
Hair: Plants used as hair shampoos, tonics, to treat balding etc.
Needles: Used for sewing, darning etc.
Soap: Plants used directly as a soap substitute.
String: Plants that can be used for string or can be easily made into a string. See also Fibre. Plants for ropes may be included.
Waterproofing: Does what it says. See also Pitch and Oil.
Weaving: Items such as grass and palm leaves that are woven together for making mats, baskets etc. See also Basket making and Fibre.
Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.
Historic Crop: These crops were once cultivated but have been abandoned. The reasons for abandonment may include colonization, genocide, market pressures, the arrival of superior crops from elsewhere, and so forth.
Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Agroforestry Services: Living fence: Simply managed rows of shrubs and trees.
Historic Crop: These crops were once cultivated but have been abandoned. The reasons for abandonment may include colonization, genocide, market pressures, the arrival of superior crops from elsewhere, and so forth.
Industrial Crop: Fiber: Clothing, rugs, sheets, blankets etc. Currently, almost none of our fiber are produced from perennial crops but could be!
Management: Standard: Plants grow to their standard height. Harvest fruit, seeds, or other products. Non-Destructive management systems.
Carbon Farming: Plants that can be a critical part of the solution to climate problems. The Carbon Farming Solution - Eric Toensmeier.
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
Landscape Uses:Border, Massing, Specimen. Thrives in any soil but prefers a sandy loam and full exposure to the south. Plants are hardier when grown on poor sandy soils. Prefers a hot dry position, disliking heavy rain. Established plants are very drought resistant. Only hardy in the milder areas of Britain. Another report says that plants are hardy to at least -30°c. A plant at Kew (1992) has survived the last 3 winters outdoors. This plant is still thriving in 1999, though it has not grown much and has not flowered. Another plant is thriving in an open sunny position at Cambridge Botanical Gardens and must have experienced temperatures of at least -10°c, probably somewhat lower. 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. However, the crown will usually produce a number of sideshoots before it dies and these will grow on to flower in later years. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus. Members of this genus seem to be immune to the predations of rabbits. Special Features: North American native, Fragrant flowers, Attractive flowers or blooms. For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. The plant growth habit is multistemmed with multiple stems from the crown. An evergreen. The root pattern is a tap root similar to a carrot going directly down.
Propagating it: 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. 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. 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.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds; East Wall. By. South Wall. By. West Wall. By.
Habit: Shrub
Hardiness: 6-11
Growth: Slow
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Dry, moist
Things to keep in mind
The roots contain saponins. 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. 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.
Its other names
Local names
Spanish bayonet, Datil, Palmilla ancha, Banana yucca,
Synonyms
Sarcoyucca baccata (Torr.) Linding