My Yucca is Not Your Yuca!!!

Hello, Darlings

I know I stated in my last post that I would start this online plant care page by entering my first experiences with growing and caring for houseplants and other plants in containers over the decades. However, I had an interesting conversation with one of my neighbors yesterday about one of the yucca plants in my backyard.  While I know that the yucca plant is toxic, it was clear to me that my neighbor was confusing it with the yuca shrub (Cassava) which has edible roots found in grocery stores.

So for my neighbor, I added this brief little post about the difference between the yucca plant and the yucca shrub.

 What I own are yucca flowering plants, and while a yuca is a root vegetable that is often prepared like potatoes, such a side of fries, soup, mashed or my favorite dish tapioca, because of their names, the Yucca plant is often confused with the Yuca..

I want to make it clear that I personally would avoid eating anything from my yucca plant. The reason for this is although its skin and leaves are poisonous, the yucca plant has been used in some medicines because it contains saponins*. Yet, regardless of the saponins, some people, like my neighbor, state that you can eat the plant. However, professionals view the plant with caution and state that only very skilled chefs know the secret to preparing yucca because of the saponins. Prepared the wrong way and it can make diners very sick.

My advice, stick to the yuca roots from the stores to make delicious meals, but treat the yucca plant as the beautiful and stately flowering plant as God intended it to be. In addition, do not readily accept information about plants from others as complete fact. Do your research.

*Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed but found particularly in soapwort (genus Saponaria), a flowering plant, the soapbark tree (Quillaja saponaria) and soybeans (Glycine max L.). They are used in soaps, medicines, fire extinguishers, speciously as dietary supplements, for synthesis of steroids, and in carbonated beverages (for example, being responsible for maintaining the head on root beer). Saponins are both water and fat soluble, which gives them their useful soap properties. Some examples of these chemicals are glycyrrhizin (licorice flavoring) and quillaia (alt. quillaja), a bark extract used in beverages. -- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

 

 

 

YUCA WITH ROOT

 

YUCCA

YUCCA AGAIN IN BLOOM

Until next time,

      Chow, Darlings