Relax, Read and Weep (A Closure Post)

Remember this post?

The one about the old tree that suddenly bloomed…?

Well, after googling more than 30 pages of Yucca Flowers I still couldn’t find which kind of Yucca family our tree belongs to.  Most flowers were creamy white, others with large elaborate flowers and edible fruits.  I found out there’s a not-to-be-confused edible yuca root which is a cassava root and theres the soapy, non-edible yucca root.  I found out there’s also a yucca moth that pollinates yuccas in particular.

The wild cassava (yuca), on the other hand, is known to be very toxic and some people in Mindanaw made the evening news some years back by ending up dead after eating some. The highland tribes, however, have a way of preparing the toxic root in order for it to be edible.  This is what wiki says:

Don’t confuse Yucca with two C’s (such as Yucca filamentosa) with Yuca with one C. They are two different plants. The “yuca” root you find in grocery stores — no matter how they spell it — is a cultivated cassava (the wild version is very toxic.) Yucca, two C’s, does not have an edible root either. It is basically full of soap. Some above ground parts of the Yucca — two C’s — are edible, notably the flower petals — no greenery. The fruits and peeled stems of the yucca — two C’s — can be edible but they tend to be too bitter even after cooking to eat them. The seeds are edible. The yuca — one C (Manihot esculenta) - above ground is very toxic. Read more at www.eattheweeds.com.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_yucca_edible

This just provides closure on the post.  So it’s a Yucca with two Cs with no edible roots. Wonder if its taking another 10-15 years to bloom again..