Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
References to yucca root as food often arise from confusion with the similarly pronounced, but botanically unrelated, yuca, also called cassava or manioc (Manihot esculenta). Roots of soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) are high in saponins and are used as a shampoo in Native American rituals. Dried yucca leaves and trunk fibers have a low ignition ...
Malosma, the root bark of which was used by the Chumash to make an herbal tea for treating dysentery. [90] Menispermum canadense, Cherokee used as a laxative, and as a gynecological and venereal aid. The root was used for skin diseases. The Lenape used it in a salve for sores on the skin. [91]
Many of California's Native American tribes traditionally used soaproot, or the root of various yucca species, as a fish poison. They would pulverize the roots, then mix the powder in water to create a foam, and then add the suds to a stream.
The root of the sweet variety is mild to the taste, like potatoes; Jewish households sometimes use it in cholent. [91] It can be made into a flour that is used in breads, cakes and cookies. In Brazil, farofa, a dry meal made from cooked powdered cassava, is roasted in butter, eaten as a side dish, or sprinkled on other food. [92]
Yucca elata is a perennial plant, with common names that include soaptree, soaptree yucca, soapweed, and palmella. [3] [4] It is native to southwestern North America, in the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Desert in the United States (western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona), southern Nevada, southwestern Utah, and northern Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora, Nuevo León).
It was particularly used for washing hair, since it was held to be effective against dandruff. [9] Cuisine. The young leaves can be used as food, but the saponins in the bulbs make these poisonous. However saponins are very poorly absorbed by the body and usually pass straight through, and in any case they can be destroyed by thorough cooking.
Lithospermum incisum (narrowleaf gromwell), salve of powdered root applied ceremonially to swelling of any body part. Poultice of root used and decoction of plant taken for swelling and sore throat. [50] Powdered root mixed with bum branch resin and used for abrasions and skin infections. Infusion of root taken for stomachache.
The Navajo people make extensive use of yucca fibers to make a wide assortment of useful and ceremonial items. They also use the roots as soap. [4] [5] It is not considered to be threatened, as it has a large range and an overall stable population. [1] Yucca baileyi is a relatively small species, usually acaulescent but