Yucca flaccida
Haw.
Adam's needle
(c) Corey Lange, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Corey Lange
(c) Burkhard, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Burkhard
(c) William Van Hemessen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by William Van Hemessen
What to Eat
Edible parts: Flowers, Fruit, Stem
The flowers can be eaten raw or cooked. The fruit and stem are also edible portions.
Where to Find It
It is a temperate plant. It suits hardiness zones 6-9.
Africa, Australia, Egypt, Europe, North Africa, North America, South America, Turkey, Türkiye, USA,
How to Identify
An evergreen shrub. It grows 5-10 m high. It spreads 5-10 m wide. It has dead leaves which persist hanging on the stem. The new leaves are dark bluish-green and flexible. They are narrowly sword shaped. They are 55 cm long and have sharp tips. There are yellow teeth along the edge. These end in straight threads. The flowers are creamy white. They are on cylinder shaped heads.
Wikipedia
Source ↗Yucca flaccida, commonly called Adam's needle or weak-leaf yucca, is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae). It is native to south-central and southeastern North America, from the lower Great Plains eastward to the Atlantic seaboard in Virginia, south through Florida and the Gulf states. Its natural habitat is in sandy open woodlands and fields. It is not considered to be threatened by the IUCN.
Notes
There are about 40 Yucca species. Also put in the family Agavaceae.
Names & Synonyms
References (6)
- Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 1492
- Harter, J.(Ed.), 1988, Plants. 2400 copyright free illustrations. Dover p 13.5 (As Yucca filifera)
- Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 934 (Also as Yucca smalliana)
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/ (As Yucca filifera) (As Yucca smalliana)
- Smith, N., Mori, S.A., et al, 2004, Flowering Plants of the Neotropics. Princeton. Plate 53 (Photo) (As Yucca filifera)
- Suppl. pl. succ. 34. 1819
