Yucca gigantea (syn. Yucca elephantipes) is a species of flowering plant in the asparagus family, native to Mexico and Central America. Growing up to in height,[ it is an evergreen shrub which is widely cultivated as an ornamental garden or house plant, often referred to simply as yucca cane.][Lowes L20982hp] The edible flower is the national flower of El Salvador locally called izote, and it is used extensively in Salvadoran cuisine.
Names
Common names include spineless yucca, soft-tip yucca, blue-stem yucca, giant yucca, yucca cane, and itabo. Its flower, the izote, is the national flower of El Salvador.
Description
Yucca gigantea is typically less than in height. It may have a thick, single trunk or be multitrunked, growing from a thickened, inflated, trunk-like lower base similar to an elephant's foot.[ Flowers are followed by brown, fleshy fruits which are oval and up to long.][
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Taxonomy
The French botanist Charles Lemaire published the name Yucca gigantea in November 1859.[ although other sources use Yucca guatemalensis, published by Baker in 1872.][
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The species is still most widely known in horticultural literature as Yucca elephantipes. The first mention of that name was by the German horticulturalist Eduard von Regel in February 1859. He claimed that a different species, Y. aloifolia, was sometimes known as Y. elephantipes when grown in European gardens because of its thickened stem base.[ However, since he did not intend to offer Y. elephantipes as the actual correct name, this was not a valid publication. In a major article on yuccas and relatives in 1902, the American botanist William Trelease also used the name Y. elephantipes, referring to Regel's 1859 publication.][ This came too late though, as Y. gigantea had by then already been established.]
Distribution
Yucca gigantea is found natively in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the eastern part of Mexico (Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, Veracruz, eastern Puebla and southern Tamaulipas).
It is also reportedly naturalized in Puerto Rico, the Leeward Islands and Ecuador.[ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
Cultivation
The species can be grown in a variety of soils and is drought-tolerant. Young plants are occasionally used as houseplants. However the species grows best in a hot semi-arid climate, so plants are subject to root rot if overwatered. Older plants are generally the most susceptible. For this reason young, shorter trees are superior houseplants as they are more adaptable to environmental changes. The species has some cold tolerance, rated as hardiness zone 9b, but it is nowhere near as hardy as other yucca from more northern deserts. Yucca gigantea can be affected by a number of pests including Scale insect, Prodoxidae, and yucca weevils.[
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Under the synonym Yucca elephantipes this species has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Uses
This section describes the gastronomic use of the flower in Latin America, but it is important to note that the specific examples are not unique to that region. There are hundreds of ways the flower is used in cooking due to the hundreds of indigenous tribes spanning from North to South America that ate Yucca flowers.
The flower petals are commonly eaten in Central America, but its reproductive organs (the anthers and ovaries) are first removed because of their bitterness.
In El Salvador, the tender tips of stems are eaten, and known locally as cogollo de izote.
==Gallery==
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'' kept as a houseplant]]
