Saturday, July 24, 2010

Adam's Needle and Happy Dogs

I've been waiting for my Yucca - Adam's Needle to come into full bloom and now it is.


I received this (Yucca - Adam's Needle- Spanish Bayonet)  from a friend a few years ago and apparently neglect is causing it to bloom.

A while ago I watched an episode of Survivorman  ( television show explaining how to survive  when stranded in different environments) and he told us why it was called Adam's Needle.

I searched the internet but found very little references to it so I just had to try it myself.

At the end of the leaf is a very sharp needle and if you strip the leaf leaving a few strands of the tough fibers you end up with a needle and thread for emergency use.
I gave it a try and it worked well enough, although I think if the leaf was a bit dryer like in the fall or by letting it dry in the sum, the needle would be harder. It was very sharp and proved it could easily go through the skin on my fingers.

The Yucca is supposed to have roots that you can make soap from, if I ever move it I shall have to try it.

7 comments:

  1. I have some yuccas in big pots indoors but they've never flowered. That's really pretty!

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  2. I would wager that native peoples made use of this a lot.In fact a toothbrush was utilied by chewing a yucca root.There is a mountain variety that is similar size but puts up a bloom over 15 ft high. That is the end of that plant but the new seeds spill down the mountain creating new ones.

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  3. I planted 3 Adam Needles Yuccas 4 years ago. I read that it can take 7 years for them to bloom after being transplanted. So...I have 3 more years to wait. Hummingbirds are suppose to like the flowers.
    I learned the hard way (ouch) that the points are very sharp but didn't know how to use them to sew and also didn't know you could use the root for soap. Great information on this easy to grow native plant!

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  4. I had to share this with my friends on Facebook!
    Don't you love this new Blogger feature?

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  5. Fascinating info.The flowers are quite pretty,but those leaves sound a little dangerous.:)
    Blessings,Ruth

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  6. That's a great tip for this plant. I watched every episode of Survivorman that I could. It's one of my favorite shows. I missed this tip so I'm glad you brought a reminder.

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  7. I saw that episode too!

    Here is some information I found.

    http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_yufi.pdf

    Hope this helps.
    Great post btw!

    Craig Glenn

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