There are fifteen species of yucca in the United States. They were an important food source for many Native Americans. There was usually at least one plant within a day's walk from any village.  The flower stalks, blossoms, and seeds of ail yucca species were consumed.

Fruits of the Banana Yucca were eaten raw, baked, boiled, dried, or ground into flour. Tender, immature pods, picked before the flowers bloomed, were gathered and roasted in early spring. The unopened flowers were harvested and boiled to remove bitterness.

Soap and shampoo were important products from this plant. Roots were pounded and soaked in water to make suds for washing hair and clothes, and for ritual cleansing.

Fibers were used for sandals, baskets, matting, cordage, fabric, fishing, and carrying nets, head straps, as a base for feather and fur cloth, and in brooms/brushes for hair, paint, dusting, and pot scrubbing.