Plant ID

Bigga Trust

Senior Member
Can anyone identify this plant? It seems odd with just a small patch in the back woods and no where else on my property in Putnam Co.
 

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NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Yucca. A most useful plant for primitive skills. The leaf fibers make good, strong cordage or lashings, the flower stalks are good for starting friction fires, you can eat the flowers, and the roots make a lathery substitute soap.
 
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Bigga Trust

Senior Member
Thanks NCHillbilly. I just read about it. Sounds real useful!

Yucca flowers and fruit are nutritious and high in carbohydrates. The root, though not as tasty, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, containing important nutrients such as vitamins B, C, iron and calcium. The plant has also been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of arthritis, colitis, hypertension and migraine headaches. The high amount of vitamin C and antioxidants present in the plant also boosts the immune system and overall health, protecting us from cell mutations and free radical damage. Furthermore, when placed indoors the yucca has notable air cleaning properties and is able to remove toxins from the air.
Yucca can also be used to make an all-natural shampoo and soap which is delicate on the skin and contributes to healing rashes and minor scratches.
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
I don't think its native to this region, when you find it around here in the woods...its usually an old homeplace. If you break it right, the point will make a needle with fibers/thread already attached.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I don't think its native to this region, when you find it around here in the woods...its usually an old homeplace. If you break it right, the point will make a needle with fibers/thread already attached.
There are a couple species that are native to the southeast. Y. filamentosa is pretty common in a lot of places. As you said, it was often also planted in people's yards.
 

Gary Mercer

Senior Member
I wonder if that is the same species of Yucca, that we had in California when I was a boy. They grew all over the hillsides, and were real pretty when they bloomed, which wasn't every year. For some reason, they seemed to be a good place to find a rattler.
I doubt a self-respecting Yucca or Rattler would live in Southern Cal these days. (No room to grow the yucca, and the illegals would eat all the rattlers.)
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
^^^ I've found several rattlers under them. It makes pretty good shade and protection from hawks and owls would be my guess.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I wonder if that is the same species of Yucca, that we had in California when I was a boy. They grew all over the hillsides, and were real pretty when they bloomed, which wasn't every year. For some reason, they seemed to be a good place to find a rattler.
I doubt a self-respecting Yucca or Rattler would live in Southern Cal these days. (No room to grow the yucca, and the illegals would eat all the rattlers.)
Likely not the same species, but they are all pretty similar.
 

Hillbilly stalker

Senior Member
I'm thinking the ones out west have a bigger stalk ? Seen them used for hand drills several times.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I'm thinking the ones out west have a bigger stalk ? Seen them used for hand drills several times.
Our species can have a stalk an inch in diameter and several feet high. They are great material for hand drills and bow drills.
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
It`s a most useful plant and my preferred material for spindle and hearth when making hand drill fires.

I think one of the Southwestern types, Sotol, has a large diameter central stalk.
 

Gary Mercer

Senior Member
Yes, Nic, and it grows 5-7 feet tall with the big set of white blooms on top.
What I would call the "stalk" has the concistency of balsa wood or even lighter.
 

Nicodemus

The Recluse
Staff member
The plant has a unique symbiotic relationship with the yucca moth too.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Yucca is the only plant fiber that I have found to be strong enough to make a usable bowstring from. Dogbane is strong enough, but you can't get it clean enough to get the pure fibers like you can yucca.
 
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