Across the prairies of the High Plains, Yucca (Yucca glauca) is ubiquitous. It’s just one of about 50 species of the Agave family.
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KIMBALL – Across the prairies of the High Plains, Yucca (Yucca glauca) is ubiquitous. It’s just one of about 50 species of the Agave family. Altogether the Yucca family is distributed across north and central America, from the Baja Peninsula in the southwest, north through the central United States and into Alberta in Canada, east across the Gulf Coast and South Atlantic states, and south throughout Mexico and into Central America.
Deeply taprooted, Yucca are easily identified by their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white to greenish-white flowers. The leaves are seldom grazed by wildlife or livestock, but the flowers, which bloom in June and July, appear to be a tasty treat for herbivores.
Native Americans used the plant in a myriad of ways. The root can be pounded with water to produce a thick, soapy lather, which is where the term soapweed comes from. Once the flowers have set into fruit pods, the pods can be roasted and eaten while still tender. The sharp tips and tough, linear fibers of the leaves can be used for sewing, and the leaves were often worked into baskets.