Use of Yucca Plants

Though found almost anywhere in the United States, yucca plants prefer the Southwestern climates. The leaves of this spiky plant grow up from the ground and resemble needles. Many flowering stalks protrude from the center of the leaves; the flowers on these stalks look like little white bells. This plant has many uses; not only doubling as a food item and a cleansing agent, yucca can even become an all-natural decorating tool.

Flowers and Stalks as a Food Source

• According to desertusa.com, the Pueblo Indians used yucca flowers as a food source, either eating them raw or dried. Baked flowers have a taste similar to that of potatoes. You can even eat the stalks; cook and eat them just like asparagus.

Leafs: Fiber and Paintbrushes

• The leaves of the yucca plant comprise tiny, thread-like fibers. The Pueblo would strip these fibers and use them to make a variety of useful tools. By twisting the fibers of many leaves together, they would make a rope that you can then in turn incorporate into other useful items such as sandal straps, fishing nets, and belts.

  Aside from stripping the leaves of their fibers, you can use yucca plant leaves to make paintbrushes. The Pueblo would chew on the end of an intact leaf to create a brushlike fringe they could then use to decorate walls and pottery.

Roots: Shampoos and Cleaners

• Even the root of the yucca plant has useful properties. The roots contain saporin, a substance that, when you dry the root and then soak it in cold water, creates a soapy solution you can use for cleaning. Some modern shampoos still contain yucca as an ingredient.