STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 89 



The leaves are said to give a fine, strong fiber. The flowers were eaten 

 formerly by tlie California Indians, and Palmer states that the seeds, also, 

 were ground and eaten, either raw or in tlie form of porridge. 



3. SAMUEL A Trel. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 13: 116. 1902. 

 Trees with thick, simple or branched trunks ; leaves dagger-shaped, sharp- 

 pointed, coarsely filiferous ; flowers white, in large dense panicles. 



Perianth tube conic, less than 1 cm. long 1. S. faxoniana. 



Perianth tube cylindric, 1.2 to 1.5 cm. long 2. S. camerosana. 



1. Samuela faxoniana Trel. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 13: 117. 1902. 



Western Texas (type from Sierra Blanca), and doubtless extending into 

 Chihuahua. 



Trunk 1.5 to 5 meters high, 30 to 60 cm. thick, simple or with a few branches 

 at the top ; leaves 1 to 1.25 meters long, 5 to 7.5 cm. wide ; fruit baccate, 2.5 to 

 7.5 cm. long. 



2. Samuela carnerosana Trel. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 13: 118. 1902. 



Dry plains and mountain sides, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, San Luis PotosI, and 

 Zacatecas ; type from Oarneros Pass. 



Trunk 1.5 to 6 meters high, simple or rarely branched, 70 cm. or less in 

 diameter; fruit 5 to 7.5 cm. long, 4 cm. thick. " Palma samandoca " (Coahuila, 

 Zacatecas). 



The large trunks are usetl for fences. or for the walls of houses, and some- 

 times they are split open so that the soft interior may be eaten by stock. The 

 large flower panicles are eaten greedily by cattle and are sometimes gathered 

 for this purpose. The immature inflorescences are used also for human food, 

 boiled or roastetl. The leaves yield a fiber (known in Zacatecas as "palma 

 ixtle " fiber) useful for cordage. The pulpy, sweet but somewhat bitter fruits 

 are eaten by people as well as by wild and domestic animals. 



4. YUCCA L. Sp. PI. 319. 1753. 



References: Trelease, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 13: 27-133. pi. 1-99. 1902; op. 

 cit. 18: 225-230. pi. 12-17. 1907. 



The plants of this genus are distributed nearly throughout Mexico, but are 

 most abundant in the more arid regions east of the western Sierra Madre, 

 where they are often the dominant feature of the landscape. Yuccas are of im- 

 portance from an economic standpoint, although much less so than the genus 

 Agave. 



The most important product is the fiber obtained from the leaves, which, 

 however, is usually coarse and shorter than is desirable in commercial fiber. 

 It is extracted usually in a crude fashion, and is an article of export. It may 

 be that in time its extraction will be of considerable importance commercially. 

 During the war-shortage of raw materials this fiber has acquired considerable 

 value in the southwestern United States, especially that of Yucca elata. The 

 fiber is much used locally for cordage, and it has been woven into mats and 

 cloth by the Indians of Mexico and the United States. It is said that the cloth 

 ("ayate") bearing the famous likeness of Our Lady of Guadalupe is made 

 of Yucca fiber, but this may be incorrect. 



The trunks of the arborescent species are often used for stockades and for 

 walls of houses, and the leaves are used for thatching. Paper can be made from 

 the fiber of the trunks and leaves. 



The plants possess the saponifying properties of the genus Agave. The roots 

 (under the name "amole") are used widely for washing clothing, the hair, 

 etc., and they have been used in the United States in the manufacture of fine 



