Central California Culture

Central California Ethnobotany

Common Name	Scientific Name	Use	Comment
Alkali Bulrush	Schoenoplectus robustus (Pursh) M.T. Strong	Food	Roots and young shoots eaten
		Basketry	Stems used to make plain-twined baskets, plant made into the heavy hoop used at the opening of the conical burden basket, root used to form the black part of the basket design.
		Building	Stems used for thatch and foundation material
		Clothing	Skins used as swaddling clothes or soft padding.
		Cordage	Root used as a weft or sewing material.
American Bulrush	Schoenoplectus americanus (Pers.) Volk. ex Schinz & R. Keller	Basketry	Root used to form the black part of the basket design.
American Vetch	Vicia americana Muhl. ex Willd.	Cordage	Stout roots used for tying.
Arrowleaf Balsamroot	Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.	Food	Parched, pulverizes, dried seed used for food
Arroyo Willow	Salix lasiolepis Benth.	Basketry	Young shoots and stems used
		Cordage	Tough inner fiber used to make garments, rope
		Graineries	Stems used
		Medicine	Numerous uses
Bangiaceae	Porphyra lanceolata (Setchell) G. M. Smith	Food	Fresh seaweed baked and eaten, fresh seaweed dried for later use, plant made into a cake, cooked in earth oven and stored for winter consumption.

Bigelow's Tobacco	Nicotiana quadrivalvis var. bigelovii (Torr.) DeWolf	Smoking	Dried leaves used as tobacco
Bigleaf Maple	Acer macrophyllum Pursh	Basketry	Withes used as coarse twine warp and weft in the manufacture of baskets.
		Cordage	Withes used as coiling thread.
Bigseed Biscuitroot	Lomatium macrocarpum (Nutt. ex Torr. & Gray) Coult. & Rose	Spice	Sweet seed used to flavor tea and pinole.
		Food	Young leaves used for food
Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany	Cercocarpus montanus var. glaber (S. Wats.) F.L. Martin	Tools	Used to make digging sticks
		Weapons	Used to make bows, arrows, and clubs
Bishop Pine	Pinus muricata D. Don	Food	Nuts eaten fresh, roasted, dried for later use
		Basketry	Root used
		Tools	Pitch used for glue
Blueblossom Ceanothus	Ceanothus thyrsiflorus Eschsch.	Soap	Fresh or dried flowers mixed with water and used as a soap for washing hands, face and body.
Blue Elderberry	Sambucus nigra ssp. canadensis (L.) R. Bolli	Food	Berries eaten fresh, dried for later use, made into jams, jellies, sauces
		Medicinal	Numerous
		Basketry	Stems, bark, leaves used to make 4 colors of dye
		Music	Stems used to make clapper sticks and whistles
		Weapons	Stems used to make arrows
Bowltube Iris	Iris macrosiphon Torr.	Wesapons	Used to make the strongest deer snares.
Blue Oak	Quercus douglasii Hook. & Arn.	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
Bolander's Yampah	Perideridia bolanderi (Gray) A. Nels. & J.F. Macbr.	Famine food	Served as substitute food when acorn supply was reduced eaten raw or cooked in baskets
Broadleaf Cattail	Typha latifolia L.	Food	Roots and young shoots eaten raw, roots dried and ground into a meal, pollen used to make cakes and mush, stems peeled and eaten, roots and inner stalks baked in ashes and eaten,
Brown Dogwood	Cornus glabrata Benth.	Basketry	Used as basket material.
Buena Mujer	Mentzelia sp.	Food	Pulverized seed made into pinole
Bull Kelp	Nereocystis luetkeana (Mert.) Post. & Rupr.	Food	Thick part of the stalk cooked in an oven or in hot ashes, stalks cut into lengthwise strips and dried for winter use.
		Cordage	Dried, shredded stems used as cordage or fish line.
Bush Lupine	Lupinus arboreus Sims	Cordage	Root fibers used for string, root fibers used to make string for fish nets, deer and rabbit nets, gill nets and carrying nets.
Butterfly Mariposa Lily	Calochortus venustus Dougl. ex Benth.	Food	Roasted bulbs used for food
California Black Oak	Quercus kelloggii Newberry	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
		Basketry	Withes used to make basket rims.
California Blackberry	Rubus ursinus Cham. & Schlecht.	Food	Berries eaten fresh
California Buckeye	Aesculus californica (Spach) Nutt.	Poison	Ground seeds used to kill fish
		Famine food	Ground seeds leached, cooked, eaten
		Housing	Fronds used for thatching
California Buckthorn	Frangula californica ssp. californica	Poison	Berries considered poisonous
California Buttercup	Ranunculus californicus Benth.	Food	Dried, stored, parched, pulverized seeds used for food
California Compassplant	Wyethia angustifolia (DC.) Nutt.	Food	Raw stem used for food
California Flannelbush or Fremontia	Fremontodendron californicum (Torr.) Coville	Cordage	Barks used for tying acorn graineries, making netting, etc.
California Goosefoot	Chenopodium californicum (S. Wats.) S. Wats.	Cleaner	Scraped roots and water used to produce detergent foam
California Huckelberry	Vaccinium ovatum Pursh	Food	Raw fruit used for food
California Harebell	Asyneuma prenanthoides (Dur.) McVaugh	Food	Bulbs eaten in winter and early spring
		Tools	Wood used to make cradle boards
California Hazelnut	Corylus cornuta var. californica (A. DC.) Sharp	Food	Nuts eaten
		Basketry	Wood used for basket rims
		Weapons	Wood used for arrow shafts
		Fishing	Stems used for fish traps
California Helianthella	Helianthella californica Gray	Food	Flowers cooked and eaten
California Juniper	Juniperus californica Carr.	Food	Berries used
California Laurel	Umbellularia californica (Hook. & Arn.) Nutt.	Food	Kernels roasted or ground into flour for cakes
California Live Oak	Quercus agrifolia Née	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
California Lomantium	Lomatium californicum (Nutt.) Mathias & Constance	Food	Young stems eaten raw
California Manroot	Marah fabaceus (Naud.) Naud. ex Greene	Poison	Mashed root used in pools in the river and in tidepools at the beach for poisoning fish.
California Redbud	Cercis canadensis var. texensis (S. Wats.) M. Hopkins	Basketry	Red bark used as design material for baskets, white, inner bark used in basketry, strips of switch bark used for brown design or bark peeled to show the white used to make baskets, peeled withes used as coarse twine and coil thread in the manufacture of baskets, unpeeled withes used as decorative coil thread in the manufacture of baskets.
California Sycamore	Platanus racemosa Nutt.	Housing	Limbs used in building
California Walnut	Juglans californica S. Wats.	Food	Nuts eaten
California Wild Grape	Vitis californica Benth.	Food	Fruit eaten fresh
		Basketry	Roots and vines used for weaving, sap used as a binder
		Cordage	Vines used for rope and split to make thread
California White Oak	Quercus lobata Née	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
		Basketry	Bark used to dye redbud strands black
		Medicine	Numerous uses
Canada Clocklebur	Xanthium strumarium var. canadense (P. Mill.) Torr. & Gray	Food	Seeds eaten as pinole
Canadian Horseweed		Food	Raw pulverized leaves and tender tops, flavor similar to onions, used for food
Canyon Live Oak	Quercus chrysolepis Liebm.	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
California Scrub Oak	Quercus dumosa Nutt.	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
California Wildrose	Rosa californica Cham. & Schlecht.	Food	Fresh fruit used for food
Carmel Ceanothus	Ceanothus griseus (Trel. ex B.L. Robins.) McMinn	Soap	Fresh or dried flowers mixed with water and used as a soap for washing hands, face and body.
Chia	Salvia columbariae Benth.	Drink	Seeds mixed into water
		Food	Seeds eaten raw, ground into flour to make mush or cakes, seeds eaten on long journeys
		Medicine	Several uses
Chufa Flatsedge	Cyperus esculentus L.	Food	Tubers on the rootstock eaten raw, baked or boiled like potatoes.
Cleveland's Tarweed	Hemizonia congesta ssp. clevelandii (Greene) Babcock & Hall	Food	Seeds used to make pinole
Coastal Redwood	Sequoia sempervirens (Lamb. ex D. Don) Endl.	Basketry	Young shoots used
Coastal Tarweed	Hemizonia corymbosa (DC.) Torr. & Gray	Food	Seeds eaten as pinole
Coastal Tidytips	Layia platyglossa (Fisch. & C.A. Mey.) Gray	Food	Seeds eaten as pinole
Coast Labradortea	Ledum ×columbianum Piper (pro sp.) [glandulosum × groenlandicum]	Drink	Leaves used to make tea
Coast Range Mariposa Lily	Calochortus vestae Purdy	Food	Baked bulbs eaten like baked potatoes.
Common Chamise	Adenostoma fasciculatum Hook. & Arn.	Weapons	Wood used for bows and arrows, gum used to attach arrowheads and feathers to shaft
		Basketry	Wood used
Common Cowparsnip	Heracleum maximum Bartr.	Food	Boiled roots and foliage used for food
		Container	Hollow stems used to carry water.
		Toys	Dried, hollow stems used as toy blowguns to shoot berries or small pebbles.
Common Deerweed	Lotus scoparius (Nutt.) Ottley	Building	Foliage used for house thatching
Common Madia	Madia elegans D. Don ex Lindl.	Food	Pulverized seeds eaten as a dry meal
Common Yarrow	Achillea millefolium L.	Medicine	Numerous uses
Conjested Snakelily	Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum	Food	Baked or boiled corms eaten like baked or boiled potatoes.
Cows Clover	Trifolium wormskioldii Lehm.	Food	Leaves and flowers eaten raw, never cooked or dried
Crevice Alumroot	Heuchera micrantha Dougl. ex Lindl.	Food	Boiled or steamed leaves eaten in spring
Crimson Columbine	Aquilegia formosa Fisch. ex DC.	Food	Early spring shoots boiled and eaten
Datura or Jimson Weed	Datura wrightii Regel	Medicine	Numerous Uses (Deadly poisonous)
Densflower Spike Primrose	Epilobium densiflorum (Lindl.) Hoch & Raven	Food	Parched, pulverized dried seed used for food
Deerbrush	Ceanothus integerrimus Hook. & Arn.	Basketry	Withes used as overlay twine weft bases in the manufacture of baskets.
Diamond Fairyfan	Clarkia rhomboidea Dougl. ex Hook.	Food	Seeds eaten raw or parched and finely pounded.
Digger Pine or California Foothill Pine	Pinus sabiniana Dougl. ex Dougl.	Food	Nuts eaten fresh, roasted, boiled, pounded, or saved for later use, or pounded into flour, cones eaten
		Basketry	Sprouts used
		Building	Bark used for house coverings, needles used for thatch, wood used for planks
		Tattooing	Soot from burned pitch used
		Tools	Pitch used as glue
Douglas Fir	Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii	Basketry	Twigs used as coarse twine warp in the manufacture of baskets.
Douglas Sagewort	Artemisia douglasiana Bess.	Fishing	Burned branches used as torches during night fishing
		Tobacco	Dried leaves smoked
Dwarf Rose	Rosa gymnocarpa Nutt.	Food	Fresh fruit eaten
Durango Root	Datisca glomerata (K. Presl) Baill.	Dye	Roots used as a yellow or red dye
Eastwood's Manzanita	Arctostaphylos glandulosa Eastw.	Food	Dried, pounded berries stored for later use in making pinole, cakes, or mixed with water
Field Horsetail	Equisetum arvense L.	Basketry	Roots used
Fool's Onion	Triteleia hyacinthina (Lindl.) Greene	Food	Bulbs steamed in earth oven and eaten
Foothill Clover	Trifolium ciliolatum Benth.	Food	Steamed clover eaten or dried for later use
Fringed Redmaids	Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pavón) DC.	Food	Seeds, in great quantities, used for pinole, raw foliage used for food
Fremont's Cottonwood	Populus fremontii S. Wats.	Food	Catkins and pods eaten raw as snacks
Fringed Redmaids	Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pavón) DC.	Food	Oily, pulverized seed pressed into cakes for eating
Gairdner's Yampah	Perideridia gairdneri ssp. gairdneri	Food	Boiled and eaten like a potato, seeds used for pinole, fresh tops eaten as greens.
Giant Horsetail	Equisetum telmateia var. braunii (Milde) Milde	Tool	Leafless, fertile stems used as sandpaper in smoothing arrow shafts and drill shafts.
		Glue	Plant used as binding to fasten feathers onto the coat of a wale-pu.
Goldeneggs	Camissonia ovata (Nutt. ex Torr. & Gray) Raven	Food	Raw, boiled, or steamed foliage used
Golden Chinkapin	Chrysolepis chrysophylla var. chrysophylla	Food	Nuts eaten raw, roasted or pounded into a meal, nuts stored in their shell for winter.
Gordon's Mockorange	Philadelphus lewisii Pursh	Weapons	Older, less pithy wood used to make bows, young, very pithy shoots used to make arrows.
Grassy Tarweed	Madia gracilis (Sm.) Keck & J. Clausen ex Applegate	Food	Parched, pulverized seed made into an oily meal and readily picked up in lumps
Greenleaf Manzanita	Arctostaphylos patula Greene	Food	Berries eaten
Hairy Brackenfern	Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens Underwood	Basketry	Root pounded to remove bark, bark core split into layers and used as material for basket design, roots used as decorative coil thread and decorative overlay twine in the manufacture of baskets.
Hairy Manzanita	Arctostaphylos columbiana Piper	Tools	Wood used for tools and awl handles
		Ceremony	Ceremonial fires for bright light
Harvest Clusterlily	Brodiaea coronaria (Salisb.) Engl.	Food	Bulbs steamed in earth oven and eaten, corns roasted and eaten
Hayfield Tarweed	Hemizonia congesta ssp. luzulifolia (DC.) Babcock & Hall	Food	Seeds used to make pinole
Hedgehog Mushroom	Dentinum repandum	Food	Baked on hot stones, in the oven or fried.
Hind's Black Walnut	Juglans hindsii (Jepson) Jepson ex R.E. Sm.	Food	Sweet nut meat dried and stored for later use, sweet nut meat eaten fresh.
		Dye	Nut husk used in dying bulrush root a black color for making basket design.
Hinds' Willow	Salix exigua Nutt.	Basketry	Young shoots and roots used
		Medicine	Numerous uses
Hollyleaf Cherry	Prunus americana Marsh.	Food	Fruit eaten fresh
		Famine food	Seeds cracked, ground, leached, cooked, eaten
Hollyleaf Redberry	Rhamnus ilicifolia Kellogg	Medicine	Numerous uses
Incense Cedar	Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin	Building	Wood and bark used as building materials
		Basketry	Roots used as overlay twine warps and overlay twine weft bases in the manufacture of baskets.
Interior Live Oak	Quercus wislizeni A. DC.	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
Kellogg's Yampah	Perideridia kelloggii (Gray) Mathias	Food	Seeds used to make pinole, young greens eaten raw
		Tools	Roots bundled together to make a hair brush or scrub brush.
Klamath Plum	Prunus subcordata Benth.	Food	Fruit used
Lambsquarters	Chenopodium album L.	Food	Boiled green used for food
Leopard Lily	Lilium pardalinum Kellogg	Food	Roots steamed and eaten
Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany	Cercocarpus intricatus S. Wats.	Tools	Used to make digging sticks
		Weapons	Used to make bows, arrows, clubs
Longtube Iris	Iris tenuissima Dykes	Weapons	Used to make the strongest deer snares.
Mariposa Manzanita	Arctostaphylos viscida ssp. mariposa (Dudley) P.V. Wells	Food	Berries eaten
		Drink	Berries used to make cider
Mendocino Sedge	Carex mendocinensis Olney	Basketry	Roots used in basketry
Mexican Whorled Milkweed	Asclepias fascicularis Dcne.	Food	Boiled greens eaten
		Cordage	Stem fiber used
Miner's Lettuce	Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata	Food	Raw stems, leaves, blossoms used for food
Mosquito Bills	Dodecatheon hendersonii Gray	Food	Leaves and roots roasted in ashes and eaten.
Mount Diablo Globelily	Calochortus pulchellus Dougl. ex Benth.	Food	Corms eaten raw or roasted.
Musk Monkeyflower	Mimulus moschatus Dougl. ex Lindl.	Food	Boiled leaves used for food
Naked Buckwheat	Eriogonum nudum var. pubiflorum Benth.	Utensil	Hollow stems used as straws
		Food	Sour young stems eaten as greens
Oceanspray	Holodiscus discolor (Pursh) Maxim.	Furnitues	Long branches used to make baby baskets
		Weapons	Long branches used to make arrows.
Oneleaf Onion	Allium unifolium Kellogg	Food	Bulbs eaten raw or fried
Oniongrass	Melica bulbosa Geyer ex Porter & Coult.	Food	Raw roots pounded like pinole.
Oregon Ash