They ate the buds and flowers raw or boiled. The Indians dried the fleshy fruits and ate them during the winter. They also made a fermented drink from the fruits. The roots and stems of the yucca make a soap. Some kinds of yucca are known as soapweed.
Yuccas serve as decorative plants in gardens throughout the United States.
They are often grown as border plants. Yuccas belong to the agave family, Agavaceae. The scientific name for the Joshua tree is Yucca brevifolia. Another common species, Y. baccata, is found in the dry areas of the United States and Mexico. The soapweed, Y. glauca, is found from New Mexico to the Dakotas.