Can someone help me explain to a Dunning-Kruger sufferer that these are two different plants? She keeps insisting that because “yucca” is a regional colloquial nickname for the Dracaena, that somehow proves they’re the same species
Show her both of them? They look very, very, very different from each other.
Introduce her to the wonderful world of botanical names, as a means of avoiding confusion between plants with the same common name.
And yes, D. draco and Y. filamentosa, apart from having similar-looking juvenile foliage, are very different-appearing plants at maturity that vary dramatically in hardiness.
You could ask her if, by definition, a Jerusalem artichoke is the same thing as a regular artichoke? (In which case, I’ll skip the appetizer course.) Or if Brussels sprouts are identical to bean sprouts, if a date palm is the same as a coconut palm, and are they both the same thing as the palm of my hand? Etc.
I’m really just posting to ask if your word “prices” in the OP is a typo. If not, I’m unfamiliar with its usage here.
Already tried that. Specifically:
Missouri primrose: not a primrose
Lucky bamboo: not bamboo
Desert rose: not a rose
Flowering maple: not a maple
Corn plant: not corn
Candy corn: not corn
"proves not prices
She only sees the leaves and the crown. Can’t get her to compare trunks
I’ve shown her many photos of both, with differences noted. Here was her response:
“you don’t need to show me photos I grow both species. I Understand. People don’t need incorrect information. If you don’t know don’t confuse people that are learning, like yourself.”
So pretty much given up on her
Typo fixed.
The ring worm is not ringed, nor is it worm. It is a fungus.
The puff adder is not a puff, nor can it add. It is a snake.
The funny bone is not funny, nor is it a bone. It is a nerve.
The fishstick is not a fish, nor is it a stick. It is a fungus.
It seems to me that she does already understand that they are two different species.
Would you like this thread moved to IMHO? It seems like this may be more of a communication issue than a factual issue about plant species.
I know that reference. 
The fact that they have two different scientific names should be all that you need.
She doesn’t “agree” with this.
I think maybe one problem might be that she thinks that Dracaena is only one kind of plant, D. fragrans.
Pretty much giving up on her. The OP has started replying specifically to me and ignoring the other person.
Thanks for your suggestions anyway.
Yep, that’s what I would be left with. You tried. She refuses to see the facts. Not much else to do: leave her with her odd belief that they’re the same. I find this a much easier way of dealing with people. You know you’re right.
Who are you to say they aren’t the same plant? Next you’ll claim there are different species of robin and that Turdus migratorius and Erithacus rubecula aren’t just wildly different morphs of the same bird species.
I don’t know about Yucca filamentosa, but in the battle of Yucca glauca v. any other plant, I wouldn’t bet against Y. glauca.
It’s tough as nails, resists attempts to eradicate it short of low-yield nuclear weapons, and can become invasive as well.
The plant in question is a Dracaena draco. She insists that because it looks like a yucca, it’s a Yucca sp. Which Yucca sp. is not relevant to her.
This is the correct course of action, I feel. Based on what you said, she might be trolling you, but either way, your time is surely too valuable to waste any more of it on this mission.
They are both Order Asparagales, Family, Asparagaceae …
But to say they are the same is to say that Asparagus is also yucca…
To be fair, most dracaena, and many Asparagaceae species have the appearance of yucca, and the various species are constantly swapped from one family to another, showing that it even confuses experts as to whether its a true yucca or a Dracaena or some other sort of Asparagaceae … she may say that if its Asparagaceae and it looks like a yucca… then its yucca-enough