Purplespot Fritillary
6. FINELEAF YUCCALily Family
Yucca angustissima
The name “Our Lord’s Candlestick” was given to this tall, conspicuous plant of the desert by the early Spanish Padres, who were the first white men to see this region of Southern Utah. During May and June the waxy-white flowers bloom on tall stalks and soon mature into rather large seed pods.
Indians made very good use of all parts of the plant. Its fiber was used for making sandals and clothing, the seeds provided food, and the roots were used for making soap. The Navajo Indian called it Yaybi-tsa-si, which means literally “Yucca of the Gods.”
Fineleaf Yucca
7. MOUNTAIN DEATHCAMASLily Family
Zigadenus elegans
An onion-like plant with a long, loose cluster of small, creamy-white flowers. Its root is shaped much like that of the onion, but is odorless. The plant is poisonous to man and beast. Deathcamas is found mostly in meadows or wet places on the plateaus where it presents a serious danger to grazing cattle and sheep. At Cedar Breaks it blooms during July and August and is fairly common in the alpine meadows.
