JULY 2018 • NEBRASKAland 31
ABOVE: Yucca (Yucca glauca) adorns a sand
dune in Cherry County. Also called soapweed,
the plant's crushed roots, when agitated in
water, produce a lather used as a shampoo
by Great Plains tribes. They ate the flowers,
flower stalks and young seedpods raw or
cooked.
UPPER RIGHT: Showy milkweed (Asclepias
speciosa) is common on sandy soils throughout
the western two-thirds of Nebraska, inhabiting
prairies, roadsides and crop fields.
LOWER RIGHT: Early morning sunlight
illuminates the petals of bigroot prickly-
pear (Opuntia humifusa). This large-padded
cactus is found on dry dunes throughout the
Sandhills.
