Detail View: Kansas Wildflowers: Yucca filamentosa L.
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Catalog Number:
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3098
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Record ID:
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KBS_LARC.3098_1200.Yuc_fil2.tif
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Global Unique Identifier:
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URN:science:KBS:wildflower:3098
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Institution Code:
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KBS
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Date Last Modified:
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12/16/2004
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Basis Of Record:
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observation
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Scientific Name:
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Yucca filamentosa L.
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Family:
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Agavaceae
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Genus:
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Yucca
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Species:
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filamentosa
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Scientific Name Author:
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L.
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State or Province:
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Kansas
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County:
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Douglas
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Locality:
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Jct US 56 & Douglas Co 1055, 1.4 mi S. Pioneer Cemetery.
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Physiographic Province:
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Osage Cuestas
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Associated Plant Community:
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Tallgrass Prairie
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Collector:
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Craig C. Freeman
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Date Collected:
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6/5/1988
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Rights:
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Craig C. Freeman
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Source:
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Kansas Wildflowers Database, Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas
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Genus Name Meaning:
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Haitian name for similar-looking genus
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Species Name Meaning:
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having threads or filaments
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Common Names:
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Adam's needle
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Description:
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Plant life form: Perennial
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Description:
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Height: 1.5-2 m
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Description:
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Species description: Flowers are creamy white and somewhat greenish and bloom from May to July.
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Description:
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Species description: Stemless, semiwoody perennial. Leaves are basal, linear and waxy green, with needle-sharp tips.
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Description:
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Habitat: Roadsides, thickets, prairies, open woods.
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Description:
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Range in Kansas: Commonly cultivated in gardens and occasionally escaped and established elsewhere. Can be found in the eastern quarter of the state. Native from Florida to Louisiana, north to North Carolina and Tennessee.
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Description:
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Edible uses: Roots contain toxic substances. Flowers can be eaten raw or dried. Fruit can be eaten after removing seeds and cooking. Leaves can be eaten after removing outer skin and cooking. Flowering stems can be cooked and eaten like asparagus.
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Description:
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Medicinal Uses: Pounded roots can be rubbed on or used in poultices for sores and skin diseases as well as sprains.
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Description:
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Other uses: Leaves used as paintbrushes. Leaf fibers used to make ropes, baskets, mats. Pounded roots produce lather in hot water and can be used as soap. Ground roots put in streams by some Native American tribes to paralyze or kill fish. Flowers sometimes used in corsages.
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Description:
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Notes: Flowers attract hummingbirds. Plants are pollinated by only one species of moth. These moths lay eggs in flower and grubs depend on under-developed seeds for their food supply.
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Description:
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Warnings: POISONOUS--Roots contain substances that can be fatally toxic to animals and fish.
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Description:
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Cultivation: Drought-tolerant. Grows best in dry, sandy, loamy, well-drained soil in full sun. Will adapt to poor soils and partial shade.
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Description:
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Propagation: Seed--plant in spring. Division--of offshoots in late spring. Cuttings--of roots taken in late winter or early spring.
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Color:
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Whitish
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