# Dracaena draco v. Yucca filamentosa **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842 "2022-06-07T22:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/1 "2022-06-07T22:34:22Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/2 "2022-06-07T22:54:45Z")
Show her both of them? They look very, very, very different from each other. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/3 "2022-06-07T22:54:59Z")
Introduce her to the wonderful world of botanical names, as a means of avoiding confusion between plants with the same common name. > **[Common Name Confusion](https://xylemrising.com/2019/03/03/common-name-confusion/)** > > I predominately use the scientific names for plants. Why? It’s not to sound smart (although it does help). I use them because for one, they are the plants’ names, and two, to avoid conf… 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. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/4 "2022-06-07T23:06:58Z")
You could ask her if, by definition, a [Jerusalem artichoke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/5 "2022-06-07T23:13:37Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/6 "2022-06-07T23:14:47Z")
"proves not prices ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/7 "2022-06-07T23:20:47Z")
She only sees the leaves and the crown. Can’t get her to compare trunks ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/8 "2022-06-07T23:39:49Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/9 "2022-06-07T23:48:27Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > proves not prices Typo fixed. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/10 "2022-06-07T23:51:21Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/11 "2022-06-07T23:53:32Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > I grow both species 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. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/12 "2022-06-07T23:54:35Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > 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. I know that reference. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/13 "2022-06-08T00:08:52Z")
The fact that they have two different scientific names should be all that you need. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/14 "2022-06-08T01:40:32Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2022, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/15 "2022-06-08T01:51:39Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > So pretty much given up on her 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. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/16 "2022-06-09T17:37:10Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/17 "2022-06-09T17:43:47Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/18 "2022-06-09T20:51:49Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/19 "2022-06-09T21:04:09Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > So pretty much given up on 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. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dracaena-draco-v-yucca-filamentosa/965842/20 "2022-06-12T00:56:39Z")
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