Yucca Plant |
| |
New Mexico's state flower is in fact a plant native to the deserts of the Southwest. The yucca is also known as the "Lamparas de dios" which translates to "Lamps of the Lord" due to the bright mass of white flowers that protrude from a center stalk within the plant. |
| |
|
The yucca is not only an attractive plant; it is has also been an important resource in past decades as its roots and palm-like leaves provided materials for the making of soap and baskets for those residing in the Southwest. |
|
| |
In the heat of the day, yucca blossoms close their petals and hang their heads. At night they open upward to welcome the ministrations of a little white moth of the Pronuba genus whose own life is inextricably linked with that of the plant. Yucca pollen is heavy and sticky, so it can't be scattered by wind or by casual contact with other insects.
|
| |
For the scientific world, Yucca glauca was not "discovered" until 1811 when the English naturalists Thomas Nuttall and John Bradbury ascended the Missouri River with competing fur companies in search of new botanical treasures. Nuttall named this new species in an ephemeral catalogue (published in October of 1813) of new seeds available at the Fraser Brothers Nursery in Chelsea, England, "for curious american plants." |
| |
Indians and Euro-American pioneers derived an effective soap from its root. Thus another common name for it is soapweed. |
| |
Medicinally, the root was used to treat upset stomach, arthritis, inflamation from bruises, sprains, and bone fractures, and to reduce hair loss. Today, herbalists us it as an anti-inflammatory. |
The flowers, flower stalks, and seed pods are edible if properly cooked.
|
|
|
|
|
