If you’ve ever wandered through the Great Plains or the open prairies of the central U.S. and Canada, you’ve probably seen Yucca glauca—the tough, spiky little plant also called soapweed. It forms clusters of narrow, sword-like leaves and sends up tall stalks of drooping white flowers in early summer. It’s one of those plants that looks harsh at first glance but has a surprising amount of history and usefulness behind it.
Native peoples across the Plains used soapweed for all kinds of things: the roots were beaten into a natural soap, the leaves were turned into rope, brushes, mats, and head pads, and the seed pods were even cooked as food. Wildlife still depends on it today, and its flowers host the tiny yucca moth, which is the plant’s only real pollinator—an example of one of nature’s tightest partnerships.
如果你曾經於大平原或美國中部和加拿大的開闊草原閒逛，你很可能見過 Yucca glauca ——這種堅韌而帶刺的小植物，也被稱為皂草。它簇生著狹長的劍狀葉片，初夏時節會抽出高高的花莖，開出下垂的白色花朵。這種植物乍看之下似乎有些粗獷，但背後卻蘊藏著令人驚訝的歷史和用途。
平原地區的土著居民曾廣泛利用皂草：根部被搗碎製成天然肥皂，葉子被製成繩索、刷子、墊子和頭墊，甚至連種子莢也被烹調食用。如今，野生動物仍然依賴皂草，其花朵是絲蘭蛾的棲息地，而絲蘭蛾是皂草唯一的真正授粉者——這是自然界最緊密的共生關係之一。
Notes 筆記
- Yucca glauca is a perennial evergreen plant, also known as small soapweed, soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet, and Great Plains yucca. It is native to central North America, occurring from the Canadian Prairies of Alberta and Saskatchewan south through the Great Plains to Texas and New Mexico in the United States.
- Yucca glauca forms colonies of rosettes. Its leaves are long and narrow, up to 60 cm long but rarely more than 12 mm wide. The inflorescence can reach up to 100 cm in height. The flowers are pendant (drooping downward) and range from white to very pale green. The fruit is a dry capsule containing shiny black seeds.
- Like other yuccas, Yucca glauca is dependent on specialized yucca moths (primarily Tegeticula yuccasella) for pollination.
- Soapweed yucca was traditionally used as a medicinal plant by the Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Lakota, and other Native American tribes. Among the Zuni people, the seed pods are boiled and eaten. The leaves are used to make brushes for decorating pottery, ceremonial masks, altars, and other objects. Leaves are also softened in water and knotted to make rope; dried leaves are split, plaited, and fashioned into water-carrying head pads, mats, cincture pads, and other items. The peeled roots are pounded to produce suds for washing hair, wool garments, and blankets.
- The young flower stalks and unripe fruits can be cooked and eaten. An important plant for wildlife, Yucca glauca provides food and nesting habitat for small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Its flowers attract butterflies, and it serves as the host plant for yucca moths.
- Yucca glauca 是一種多年生常綠植物，又稱小皂草、皂草絲蘭、西班牙刺刀絲蘭和大平原絲蘭。它原產於北美中部，分佈範圍從加拿大艾伯塔省和薩斯喀徹溫省的草原向南延伸，穿過大平原，到達美國的德州和新墨西哥州。
- Yucca glauca 形成蓮座狀葉叢。其葉片細長，長達 60 公分，但寬度很少超過 12 公釐。花序可高達 100 公分。花朵下垂，顏色從白色到淺綠色不等。果實為乾燥的蒴果，內含光澤的黑色種子。
- 與其他絲蘭一樣，Yucca glauca 依賴專門的絲蘭蛾（Tegeticula yuccasella）進行授粉。
- Soapweed yucca 在美洲原住民傳統上被黑腳族 (Blackfoot)、夏安族 (Cheyenne)、拉科塔族 (Lakota)和其他一些部落用作藥用植物。祖尼族人 (Zuni) 會煮熟絲蘭的種子莢食用。絲蘭的葉子可以用來製作刷子，裝飾陶器、祭祀面具、祭壇和其他物品。葉子也可以用水泡軟後打結製成繩索；乾燥的葉子可以劈開、編織，製成盛水的頭墊、墊子、腰帶墊和其他物品。去皮的根部可以搗碎成泡沫，用來洗頭髮、羊毛衣物和毯子。
- 嫩花莖和未成熟的果實可以烹調食用。Yucca glauca 是野生動物的重要棲息地，為小型哺乳動物、鳥類和爬行動物提供食物和築巢場所。它的花吸引蝴蝶，同時也是絲蘭蛾的寄主植物。
Other Related Posts 其他相關的帖子
- Plant: Yucca 絲蘭屬
- Plant: Beaked yucca (Yucca Thompsoniana)
- Plant: Large-flowered Yucca (Yucca Grandiflora)
References 參考資料
- Wikipedia: Yucca glauca
Plants Posts 植物的帖子
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