Early uses of California Plants

I've been touting for years the use of native plants and their benefits for the native wildlife. In researching some of our most common plants, I've found many more uses for some of them. After reading this column, you may just decide to serve Mesquite punch along with some deep fried cactus rings at your next bridge luncheon!

In all seriousness, I was fascinated by what I learned and some of you may be also. Our Native Americans didn't just weave baskets from native plant materials. Native plants were sources of food, clothing, soap, medicines, beverages and much more.

This first column will deal with those early uses of some of our most common native plants.

• Yuccas were of primary importance to Native Americans. They provided food, fiber and soap. The flower stalks, blossoms and seeds were consumed. The roots of the yucca, when pounded, produce volumes of suds. Native Americans washed their hair and clothes with yucca root. Yucca leaf fibers were used to make sandals, ropes, mats and mattresses. Whole yucca leaves were used to bind supporting poles in house construction.
  
  
• Ocotillos were used in many ways. Ground ocotillo root mixed with warm water, made a soothing bath to relieve fatigue. Root tea was used to relieve coughing and root powder was applied to swollen joints and contusions to reduce swelling. Ocotillo branches made excellent firewood and "living fences". Ocotillo blossoms, mixed with water, made a tasty drink, and seeds were ground into flour to make cakes or mush. The high percentage of protein in ocotillo seeds made it a highly nutritious food.
  
  
• Mesquite fruit and seeds were crushed into meal for mush or cakes. Spring flowers were roasted and eaten. Healing teas were made from leaves and blossoms. Leaf and twig concoctions were used as wound disinfectants. Mesquite branches made excellent bows and woody parts of the plant were used for firewood.
  
  
• Jojoba oil is a valuable commodity, even today. The jojoba made shampoo, treated skin and scalp conditions and eye soreness. Chewing raw, green jojoba seeds was a treatment for sore throats.
  
  
• The fan palm was used for food, construction materials, tools, clothing, weapons and shade. Palm tips, crown pith and young leaf bases were cooked and consumed. Palm fibers made baskets and sandals. Palm leaf stems made spoons, shovels and stirring tools. Palm fruits were eaten fresh or sun-dried and ground into flour.
  
  
• The creosote bush was noted for its medicinal value. Crushed leaves were an effective antibacterial agent for wound management. Crushed stems and water reduced the pain of rheumatism and sciatica. Tea from leaves and stems was used to treat venereal diseases, respiratory infections, constipation and cramps.
  
  
• The beavertail cactus was a tremendous food source for our desert Indians. All above ground portions of the plant were consumed. Once the spines were removed from young joints, they could be boiled and eaten. The sweet cactus fruits were de-spined and roasted. The large seeds from the fruit were ground into meal for other uses.
  
  
• The eight agave species found in the Southwest were extremely valuable to the Indians and were used as trade items. The leaves, flower stalk, blossoms and seeds could be eaten. Juice from the young flower stalk was, and is, the main ingredient in tequila. Agave fibers were used to make bowstrings, brushes, cradles, nets, slings, shoes and many other products. Uncooked leaves are poisonous and the leaf juice was used to poison arrow tips.
  
  
• Other important food plants were the oaks, California buckeye, California laurel, chia and toyon. Popular drink plants were the Mexican tea, barberry and sugar bush. For fiber and basketry, the yuccas, bear and deer grasses, Indian hemp and, interestingly enough, poison oak. Apparently, the full-blooded Indians suffered either slightly, or not at all, from the effects of poison oak.
  
  

Don't try to become the Julia Child of the forest until you've read our next column on poisonous plants in California. This article is merely intended to take us back to our roots, so to speak.

— Cindy Traisi