Known for its spiky leaves and towering blooms, the yucca plant is an ornamental plant, often found in gardens. Its roots and seeds are edible, and are often served as a vegetable similar to white potatoes. But unlike their ornamental cousins, yucca roots are also edible, with medicinal and nutritional benefits. This article explores the many uses of the plant and its various parts.
Like yucca, dracaena has long strap-like leaves. Its foliage is greener and sometimes multi-hued. Dracaena has many trunks, and resembles a real tree more than a houseplant. Despite its succulent nature, it will still suffer from cold damage when kept indoors. If the temperature drops below 50 degrees F, the plant will succumb to the chill.
Yucca leaves and branches fall from the plant when the summer ends, leaving a diamond-shaped scar on the trunk. A yucca leaf tends to remain attached to its trunk until the fall season begins, when new leaves emerge from the roots. These two plants are often found together. The yucca is a popular food in the southwest, and its edible leaves are an excellent source of fiber and vitamin C.
A variety of yucca moths live on yucca plants and are an essential part of their diet. Without yucca plants, it would be hard for them to survive. Their caterpillars, in turn, rely on yucca plants for food. Interestingly, the females do not lay their eggs in the same flowers used by other moths. This would cause too many larvae to hatch in the same flower.
