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It’s one of the most common plants in the indoor environment. You’ve been watering it all these years; now it’s time for some payback.

You can eat it, make rope and blankets with it, weave baskets and carve figurines, and it’s the best wood bar none for lighting fires, so it’s not surprising that Native American tribes mythologised the powers of the yucca. If you are prepared to sacrifice part of the root and trunk you have a day of yucca fun ahead, rounded off nicely with this evening’s fire-lighting ceremony.

Which variety?

If you bought your yucca tree somewhere like Ikea there’s a good chance its variety is the giant yucca (Yucca elephantipes) – which has all the qualities mentioned above. Most other yuccas do as well, but it’s best to check. Another common variety is Spanish Bayonet (Yucca aloifolia), which is considered the best to eat.

Uses

YUCCA CHOPSTICKS

Time: one hour

The smooth wood is perfect to eat from, and splits easily. Start with a branch that looks about the right size to get one or two pairs of chopsticks from it and split it down the middle. Whittle away until one end of each is rounded, leaving the other end in its raw twig-like state for rustic authenticity.

YUCCA BRUSHES

Time: two hours

You need to have prepared for this by soaking some leaves in water for a couple of weeks. Now pound them with a stone to get rid of the green pulp until just the fibres are left. Tie a bunch of fibres close to one end. The Navajo would bind one end tight for use as a hair brush; the other, looser, end served as a clothes brush. Or, if you prefer, wind the fibres to make string, rope, baskets or a blanket (maybe just a very small one).

YUCCA FLOWER FRITTER

Time: 30 minutes

To do the least damage to your plant just eat the flower petals; they’re good raw but best lightly cooked (dusted in flour and fried in oil for five minutes). If your yucca has a fruit you’re in for a juicy treat. The stem of the flower is edible too, best peeled and boiled like asparagus. All to be eaten with the yucca chopsticks, of course.

YUCCA SOAP

Time: 40 minutes

Take a bit of the root and crush it in a bowl of water until it starts to go sudsy. The more you work at it, the more lather you get. Now you’re ready for the Navajo hairwash, all the rage in the spas of New Mexico.