+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| ## adam's needle {#adams-needle .Title-Header}                        |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| *Yucca filamentosa* L.                                                |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Plant Symbol = YUFI                                                   |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+

Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

### ![](media/image2.jpeg){width="2.6979166666666665in" height="4.042361111111111in"}

### Alternate Names

Needle palm, bear grass, bear's thread, Christmas bells, Confederate
flax, curly hair, Eve's darning needle, Eve's thread, grass cactus,
our-Lord's-candles, silk grass, soap root, soap week, Spanish-dagger,
spoon leaf yucca, thread-and-needle

### Uses

*Ethnobotanic*: The Catawba, Cherokee, Nanticoke and other Native
American tribes used *Yucca filamentosa* for a variety of purposes
including food, medicine, cordage and even soap. The roots, which
contain saponin, were prepared by boiling and pounding for use as soap.
Roots were beaten into a salve or poultice that would then be used to
treat sprains or applied to sores on the skin. The roots were used to
treat gonorrhea and rheumatism. Skin diseases were treated by rubbing
the roots on the skin and by taking a decoction of the roots. The plant
was used as a sedative to induce sleep. An infusion of the plant was
used to treat diabetes. The flowers were eaten both raw and cooked. The
pounded roots were thrown into fishing waters to "intoxicate fishers"
allowing for easier catch. The green leaves are easily split into long
strips that can be plied into cord. The leaves have long, very strong
fibers, a type of sisal, which were twisted into strong thread used as
cordage for binding and to construct baskets, fishing nets, fishing
lines and clothing. The leaves of *Yucca filamentosa* contain the
strongest fibers native to North America.

*Wildlife*: Hummingbirds visit the flowers. Yuccas are pollinated by
small, white Yucca moths (*Tegeticula yucasella* and related species)
with which they have a special plant-insect mutualism. At night, the
fragrant flowers attract the female moth that feeds on the nectar. She
then rolls pollen from the flowers into a ball that is three times the
size of her head and carries the pollen ball to the next flower. There,
she first lays eggs inside the immature ovary and then deposits the
pollen on the flower's stigma insuring that seeds will form to feed her
progeny. Because the larvae mature before they are able to consume all
of the seeds (60 to 80% of the seeds remain viable), the plants are able
to reproduce as well.

*Other*: The flowers are used for corsages.

### Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural
Resources for this plant's current status (e.g. threatened or endangered
species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

### Description

*General*: Agave Family (Agavaceae). Adam's needle is an native,
evergreen, perennial shrub. The plants have long, thick underground
stems and rarely have an above ground stem. The grayish green leaves
appear from a rosette at or near the ground. The leaves are stiff and
sword-shaped (30 to 76 cm long and 2.5 cm wide) with sharp, pointed tips
and long, curly, filamentous threads at the margins. The bell-shaped
flowers (5 to 8 cm wide) are a creamy white to pale yellow or green with
broadly ovate petals (4-5 cm). The flowers, which appear in late spring
and summer, hang loosely in clusters from a large, central spike (1 to 4
m tall) that emerges from the rosette. The fruits are capsules that
contain 120 to 150, small black seeds that are dispersed by wind.

*Distribution*: Adam's needle is native to the Southeastern United
States and Mexico. For current distribution, please consult the Plant
Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

*Habitat*: Adam's needle is adapted to hot, dry regions in areas that
are protected from fire. It occurs in dry, sandy soils along the coast,
rocky and sandy places, bluffs, thin woods, oldfields and other open
areas.

### Establishment

*Yucca filamentosa* does well in garden plantings as well as in areas of
high heat and light, such as parking lots. The plants have striking
foliage that adds interest to borders, rock gardens and xeriscapes. The
plants are long-lived and very drought resistant. The thick, rhizomous
roots are storage organs that allow the plants to thrive in many soils,
even in areas of pure sand. The plants can spread through this
underground root system to form small clumps (1 to 1.5 m wide) with
multiple crowns or offshoots. They can tolerate both cold and moderate
wetness, making the species one of the most hardy of the genus. The
plants may be propagated by dividing the offshoots from the parent
plant. The plants may also be propagated through root cuttings and
seeds, which sprout readily. Care should be taken in site selection, as
the roots of mature plants can grow large and extend deep into the
ground, making removal difficult. For more temporary sites, the plants
may be grown in containers. For garden plantings space the plants about
1meter apart in a sunny, well-drained location of low to medium
fertility. Water the plants well for the first year as the roots
establish. Because of the sharp, pointed leaves they should not be
placed near playgrounds or other areas where children play.

### Management

The flower stalk should be removed once the flowers have dropped.
Otherwise, these plants are durable and require very little maintenance.

### Pests and Potential Problems

In areas of poor drainage, the leaves may be sensitive to leaf spot or
blight.

### Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

These plant materials are readily available from commercial sources.
Contact your local Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly Soil
Conservation Service) office for more information. Look in the phone
book under "United States Government." The Natural Resources
Conservation Service will be listed under the subheading "Department of
Agriculture."

### References

Bailey, L.H. & E.Z. Bailey 1976. *Hortus Third: A concise dictionary of
plants cultivated in the United States and Canada*. Simon and Schuster
Macmillan Co., New York, New York. 1290 pp.

Banks, W.H. 1953. *Ethnobotany of the Cherokee Indians*. Master of
Science Thesis, University of Tennessee, Tennessee. 216 pp. Brown, R.C.
1994. *Florida's first people: 12,000 years of human history*. Pineapple
Press, Inc., Sarasota, Florida. 262 pp.

Chapman, A.W. 1883. *Flora of the Southern United States: Flowering
Plants and Ferns*. Second Edition. J. Wilson and Son, Cambridge,
Massachusetts. 698 pp.

Coffey, T. 1993. *The history & folklore of North American wildflowers.*
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, MA. 356 pp.

Cullina, W. 2000. *The New England Wild Flower Society guide to growing
and propagating wildflowers in the United States and Canada*. Houghton
Mifflin Company, New York, New York. 322 pp.

Dirr, M.A. 1997. *Dirr's hardy trees and shrubs: an illustrated
encyclopedia*. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 493 pp.

Duncan, W.H. & L.E. Foote 1975. *Wildflowers of the Southeastern United
States.* University of Georgia Press, Athens, Georgia. 296 pp.

Flint, H.L. 1997. *Landscape plants for Eastern North America*. Second
Edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York. 842 pp.

Halfacre, R.G. & A.R. Showcroft 1979. *Landscape plants of the
Southeast*. Sparks Press, Raleigh, North Carolina. 325 pp.

Martin, A.C., H.S. Zim & A.L. Nelson 1951. *American wildlife and
plants: A guide to wildlife food habits*. Dover Publications, New York.
500 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1998. *Native American ethnobotany*. Timber Press,
Portland, Oregon. 927 pp.

Moerman, D.E. 1999. *Native American Ethnobotany Database: Foods, drugs,
dyes and fibers of native North American Peoples. The University of
Michigan-Dearborn.* \[Online\]. Available:

<http://www.umd.umich.edu/cgi-bin/herb>

(21 June 2001).

Ottensen, C. 1995. *The native plant primer.* Harmony Books, New York,
New York. 354 pp.

Rogers, D.J. & C. Rogers 1991. *Woody ornamentals for Deep South
gardens*. University of West Florida Press, Pensacola, Florida. 296 pp.

Small, J.K. 1933. *Manual of Southeastern flora*. University of North
Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1554 pp.

Taylor, L.A. 1940. *Plants used as curatives by certain Southeastern
Tribes*. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge,
Massachusetts.

88 pp.

Taylor, K.S. and S.F. Hamblin 1963. *Handbook of wild flower
cultivation*. The Macmillan Company, New York, New York. 307 pp.

Whitcomb, C.E. 1983. *Know it and grow it, II: A guide to the
identification and use of landscape plants*. Lacebark Publications,
Stillwater, Oklahoma. 740 pp.

Whitthoft, J. 1947. *An early Cherokee ethnobotanical note*
(Communicated by W.N. Fenton). Journal of the Washington Academy of
Sciences 37(3): 73-75.

Wyman, D 1949. *Shrubs and vines for American gardens.* The Macmillan
Company, New York, New York. 442 pp.

Young, J.A. & C.G. Young 1992. *Seeds of woody plants in North America*.
Dioscorides Press, Portland, Oregon. 407 pp.

### Prepared By

## *Diana L. Immel*

Formerly USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Environmental
Horticulture Department, University of California, Davis, California

### Species Coordinator

## *M. Kat Anderson*

USDA, NRCS, National Plant Data Center, c/o Plant Sciences Department,
University of California, Davis, California

Edited: 27sep01 jsp; 060818 jsp

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

*The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in
all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national
origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual
orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases
apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require
alternative means for communication of program information (Braille,
large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA\'s [TARGET
Center](http://www.usda.gov/oo/target.htm) at 202-720-2600 (voice and
TDD).*

*To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of
Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence
Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or
TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.*

*Read about [Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation
Service](http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/about/civilrights/).*