Soap palm lily
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Yucca elata subsp. utahensis in southern Utah. |
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| Yucca elata | ||||||||||||
| Engelm. |
The soapy palm lily ( Yucca elata ) is a species of the genus of the palm lily ( Yucca ) in the asparagus family (Asparagaceae).
description
The stemless or stem-forming growing species reaches a height of 0.3 to 4.5 meters. The variable and flexible fibrous leaves are 30 to 90 centimeters long and pale green. They are widest near the center. The leaf margin is entire and wavy; there is a short thorn at the tip of the leaf.
The branched panicle inflorescence reaches a height of over 4 meters. The hermaphrodite, pendulous flowers are bell-shaped and threefold. The six identical bloom bracts are white to cream-colored. The stamens are 1.5 to 2.5 inches long, the anthers about 2.5 to 4.8 millimeters. The upright capsule fruits are about 4 to 8 centimeters tall and contain thin, matt black seeds that are about 7 to 11 millimeters in size.
The number of chromosomes is 2n = 60.
distribution
The soapy palm lily and its subspecies are common in desert areas of southern Utah , southern Arizona , New Mexico , western Texas and northern Mexico . They grow on sandy soils at altitudes of 850 to 2000 m and are there associated with other yucca species: Yucca faxoniana , Yucca baccata , Yucca arizonica , Yucca schottii and Yucca torreyi , various agave species, Sclerocactus parviflorus , Toumeya papyracantha and other plant species.
Systematics
The first description by the American botanist George Engelmann was published in 1882. Further synonyms for the species are Yucca angustifolia var. Radiosa Engelm. , Yucca angustifolia var. Elata Engelm. and Yucca radiosa (Engelm.) Trelease .
The species Yucca elata is placed within the genus Yucca in the section Chaenocarpa and therein in the series Glaucae . There are two or three subspecies:
- Yucca elata subsp. elata : It occurs from Arizona to western Texas and northern Mexico.
- Yucca elata subsp. utahensis (McKelvey) Hochstätter : It occurs in southeastern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona. It is also viewed by some authors as an independent species of Yucca utahensis McKelvey .
- Yucca elata subsp. verdiensis (McKelvey) Reveal : It occurs in Arizona.
use
The soap palm lily owes its name to the soap-like raw material from the roots and trunks, which is used as a soap substitute. Local Indians used the leaves to weave baskets. Chopped trunks and leaves serve as emergency fodder to save the cattle from dying of thirst in drought situations.
Culture
The soap palm lily is hardy in Central Europe , Washington State, and British Columbia, Canada . Yucca elata has been cultivated in the F. Hochstätter collection in Mannheim for 25 years without any protection . In rainy areas, all subspecies require moisture protection in the winter months.
photos
Yucca elata :
With ripe seed pods in Texas
In full bloom
Specimen in White Sands, New Mexico
20 year old specimen in Mannheim, Germany, hardy
30 year old specimen with 5 m high inflorescence in August 2004 after the summer of the century 2003 in Mannheim, Germany
Yucca elata subsp. verdiensis in central Arizona
Blooming specimen
Specimen in White Sands, New Mexico
literature
- Fritz Hochstätter : Yucca (Agavaceae) . Database. Synonymized checklist electronically published at fhnavajo.com. 1998.
- Fritz Hochstätter: Yucca I (Agavaceae) . USA and Canada. 2000. English with German summary. ISBN 3-00-005946-6
- Fritz Hochstätter: Yucca III (Agavaceae) . Mexico with Baja California. 2004. English with German summary. ISBN 3-00-013124-8
- Yucca elata . In: Urs Eggli (Ed.): Sukkulentenlexikon. Volume 1 Monocotyledons , Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart, 2001, p. 93. ISBN 3-8001-3662-7 .
Individual evidence
- ^ Tropicos. [1]
- ↑ George Engelmann: Some Notes on Yucca . In: Botanical Gazette . Volume 7, Number 2, 1882, p. 17 ( online ).
