This plant is not native to my area (central/east) or most where it is used as a lawn enhancer across the U.S. with the obvious exception of the west coast. But, this plant has many interesting qualities that make it a useful plant in a post apocalyptic or "services temporarily disrupted" situation :) First off, the barbed tip when bent backwards a quarter inch from the tip, can be peeled off along the back side of the leaf, with the meat of the plant scraped off by a knife or similar object and trimmed down it becomes a sewing needle with thread already attached. In the picture you will see two that my 13 year old daughter did on her first attempts. These are adequate enough to sew torn clothing or similar uses and if dried out should allow for them to be used for stitching wounds, I would drink a lot of alcohol first though to dull the pain, but if a sterile needle isn't handy, necessity dictates. Also, when you scrape the meat off the leaves and tear it into 1/8 inch strips then braid them into simple cordage, it becomes by far the strongest cordage I have come across naturally that can support so much weight while being such a thin cord/rope. The simple cordage here is actually three cords made from three leaves then woven together and it's still very thin. Each simple cord could hold over 50 pounds, all three together as in the picture held my weight with ease, no creaking or breaking of fibers and I weigh around 170 pounds. It took my whole weight as you can see it biting into the sole of my sneaker, and no I didn't use my hands to take off weight but I did use them for stabilization. I used my fake leg in case it broke, didn't want to scrape my good leg on metal but my fake one is damn near bullet-proof. So, if you notice this plant in your neighborhood or on the side of the road, mentally jot it down. You may need it one day.
** NOTE**
Any plant with a fiberous leaf (difficult to tear across fibers) and a hardened (often darkened) sharp tip can be used as the palm above.
