The Almighty Yucca - A Survivalists Super Plant!
Yucca plants are very attractive with their bell-shaped white flowers and spiny leaves. They are a mighty plant, so hearty they can survive even the most rugged of conditions.
Food
If you come across a fruiting or flowering Yucca in the wild, you are in luck! The flowers, fruit, and seeds of the Yucca are edible, and are known to taste yummy. However, the roots are toxic so leave those for craft.
A fruiting Yucca, the fruits are not ripe just yet.
Yucca contains a high amount of vitamins A, B and C. The plant is also an excellent source of calcium, phosphorus, iron, manganese and copper.
One way to prepare Yucca flower is to lightly blanche the petals and toss with tomato and onion. Remove the reproductive parts as they have a bitter taste.
Medicine
Native folk medicine touts Yucca to have powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-fungal properties. Traditional medicine also claims that Yucca relieves arthtitis. Another use for Yucca in medicine is that the power plant can also lower cholesterol.
The Yucca can get as big as a small tree! Some look like Palm!
Keep in mind that all of these claims have not been backed by scientific evidence . . . Yet.
Craft
Yucca roots are high in saponins which makes an excellent frothy soap and shampoo for hair. It has also been used to treat dandruff and hair loss. The fibrous leaves and trunk of the Yucca make great kindling for starting fires. The tips of their spiny leaves are very durable which is ideal for crafting sewing needles. Native Americans would fashion the spines into hooks for hanging meat.
With the Yuccas in full bloom right now, I may take home a handful of petals and make a warm salad. I am tempted to dig up the roots and try the natural shampoo!
Great information. Always good to understand your surroundings and be prepared for being out in nature.
Always enjoy hiking...did a lot of it in Yellowstone last summer. It gave me nervous feeling at times though...walking around on a giant volcano.
I lived in West Yellowstone for 3 years and spent tons of time in the park! What was your favorite feature?
I am from Montana and have lots of herbalism survival skills there. However, I am working in the desert for a little while and am learning about the bushcraft here. Very different.
I loved just walking through all the paintpot and geyser areas. The lower and upper falls were amazing too. We got caught in a traffic jam one day, and it turned out to be a really cool experience because a buffalo walked right past our car...he was completely blocking the other lane, using it as his own personal walking path, lol.
The single feature that sticks out the most is the one larger cave/geyser that sounded like a dragon as the glasses pushed up through the hot water. That was cool.
Yeah the paintpots are really awesome and all the falls and geysers too. The bison use the roads all the time and cause buffalo jams! And there is nothing anyone can do but wait it out. Sometimes there are dozens of them on the road!
I just see this kind of plant. By the way, it's very informative and useful to know it. We learn many things from your post. Thanks for sharing with us. I live in Indonesia and this plant is a new thing for me.
Indonesia, that's very far from where I am! Do you have any similar plants to the yucca?
Do you know palm tree. I think it's a bit has similarity with yucca. CMIIW...
It's glad to talk to you @queenmountain
Have you tried to eat it before? I didn't know the Yucca was edible. If I go to Vegas hopefully I can buy some at a farmers market.
I think it's unfortunate how limited our food is. It's mostly all processed when it should be fresh.
good post the only plant i know good for surviving dry conditions is the cactus plant
I just did a post about the opuntia cactus and it's survival properties. Check it out!
I like this blog because it reminds me of a time when I thought I had a Yucca plant in my yard, I was gong to eat it but realized I should probably do some more research. I it was a yuca with one c and it is poisonous I think, but in the end I never ate it just to be safe. Could someone answer my question? Some times when I go to the store and I see yucca/yuca root im never sure which one it is because it changes from Yucca to yuca I know there is a difference but I don't know which one has an edible root.
It is the Yuca that has the edible root. The Yucca has saponins in the root that makes a great shampoo, but not so good to eat. Although it wouldn't surprise me if the grocery stores are spelling the name wrong at times. Lol
Thanks for the info that has been bothering me forever :)
Very interesting article that you publish, always mother earth, giving us everything we need, as it is possible that a single plant can generate so many benefits, great news.
I hope your new publications are very educational.
Thank you.
Friend here in Venezuela there is a bush called yucca and it is a vegetable that is eaten in many ways, there are two types of yucca, bitter, and sweet yucca, this sweet yucca is used for different types of food. , I really see first that there is another type of yucca, that this article is good because we learn a lot more every day. regards @queenmountain
That is interesting that there are 2 types of yucca in Venezuela. I think there is only one type here.
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This is great. We have 3 types of native yucca here in FL. Lots of great uses. Very nice article will look forward to the next.
ah, we were trying to figure out how to get rid of the slightly bitter tastel thanks for the tip! (removing the repro parts)