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	Fraxinus latifolia Benth.	Tools	Wood used for digging sticks
		Smoking	Used to make tobacco pipes.
Oregon Grape	Mahonia sp.	Dye	Fruit used to make yellow dye
Oregon White Oak	Quercus garryana Dougl. ex Hook.	Food	Acorns stored up to one year, ground, leached, cooked into mush, soup, cakes, bread
Oyster Mushroom	Pleurotus ostreatus	Food	Cooked on hot stones, baked in the oven or fried.
Pacific Dewberry	Rubus vitifolius Cham. & Schlecht.	Food	Fruits eaten
Pacific Hound's Tongue	Used as basket material.	Food	Roots cooked and used for food
Pacific Madrone	Arbutus menziesii Pursh	Food	Berries eaten fresh or roasted, dried for later use
		Drink	Berried crushed for a refreshing drink
		Toys	Bark used by children as sleds
		Medicine	Numerous uses
Pacific Monardella	Monardella odoratissima Benth.	Drink	Decoction of stems and flower heads used for beverage
Pacific Ninebark	Physocarpus capitatus (Pursh) Kuntze	Food	Berries eaten raw
		Weapon	Straight stems used to make arrows
Pacific Peavine	Lathyrus vestitus Nutt.	Food	Greens and raw seeds used for food
Pacific Yew	Taxus brevifolia Nutt.	Weapons	Wood used to make bows
		Basketry	Roots used
Pacific willow	Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra (Benth.) E. Murr.	Basketry	Stems and young shoots used
		Medicine	Numerous uses
Pale Serviceberry	Amelanchier pallida Greene	Food	Berries eaten fresh and dried for future use
		Building	Stems and foliage used for thatching
Pink Honeysuckle	Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans (Benth.) Gray	Smoking	Stems used for clay elbow pipes
		Tattoos	Burned wood ashes made into a paste for tattooing.
Ponderosa Pine	Pinus ponderosa P.& C. Lawson	Food	Nuts eaten
		Basketry	Roots and straight stems used, roots used as the overlay twine warps and overlay twine weft bases in the manufacture of baskets.
		Building	Wood used to frame houses
Prettyface	Triteleia ixioides (Ait. f.) Greene	Food	Bulbs used for food
Puget Sound Gumweed	Grindelia stricta var. stricta	Glue	Sticky sap used a glue
Red Alder	Alnus rubra Bong.	Dye	Inner bark chewed and used as a dull red dye.
Redshank	Adenostoma sparsifolium Torr.	Food	Seeds eaten
		Building	Popular construction material
		Clothing	Fibrous stripped bark used to make women's skirts
		Weapons	Wood used to make arrowheads
Red Willow	Salix bonplandiana Kunth	Basketry	Young shoots and limbs used
		Medicine	Numerous uses
River Bulrush	Schoenoplectus fluviatilis (Torr.) M.T. Strong	Basketry	Root used to form the black part of the basket design.
Rusty Popcornflower	Plagiobothrys nothofulvus (Gray) Gray	Food	Young leaves eaten as greens
Salal	Gaultheria shallon Pursh	Food	Raw or cooked berries used for food
Salmonberry	Rubus spectabilis Pursh	Food	Berries eaten fresh
Saltmarsh Bulrush	Schoenoplectus maritimus (L.) Lye	Basketry	Root stock fibers used as design material for baskets, grass used for basketry.
Sandmat Manzanita	Arctostaphylos pumila Nutt.	Drink	Berries made into cider
Santa Barbara Sedge	Carex barbarae Dewey	Basketry	Woody root fibers used as the white background in baskets, white, woody center of the root used as a sewing element in coiled baskets and in twining.
Sea Palm	Postelsia palmaeformis Ruprecht	Food	Fresh stem chewed raw or baked in an oven or hot ashes, stems cut into long strips and sun dried for winter use.
Seaside Buckwheat	Eriogonum latifolium Sm.	Medicine	Numerous uses
Scouringrush Horsetail	Equisetum hyemale L.	Basketry	Roots used
Seep Monkeyflower	Mimulus guttatus DC.	Food	Boiled leaves used for food
Skunkbush Sumac	Rhus trilobata Nutt.	Drink	Berries mixed with water
		Food	Berries eaten fresh, dried, ground into flour
		Dye	Bark and leaves
		Basketry	Important component of basketry
Sierra Mint	Pycnanthemum californicum Torr.	Medicine	Decoction taken for colds
Sierran Currant	Ribes nevadense Kellogg	Food	Raw berries used for food
Sierran Gooseberry	Ribes roezlii Regel	Food	Raw, pulverized berries used for food
Short Lily	Calochortus amabilis Purdy	Food	Baked or boiled bulbs eaten like baked or boiled potatoes
Showy Milkweed	Asclepias speciosa Torr.	Clothing	Stem fiber shredded to make women's skirts
		Cordage	Stem fiber used to make two ply string
Showy Tarweed	Madia elegans ssp. densifolia (Greene) Keck	Food	Seeds used to make pinole
Slender Oat	Avena barbata Pott ex Link	Food	Parched, stone boiled seeds pulverized and eaten as mush or soup
Spearmint	Mentha spicata L.	Drink	Leaves used for tea
Sticky Whiteleaf Manzanita	Arctostaphylos viscida Parry	Food	Berries eaten
		Drink	Berries used to make cider
Stinging Nettle	Urtica dioica ssp. holosericea (Nutt.) Thorne	Cordage	Stems furnish string and twine for netting, bow strings, thatching, etc.
		Food	Leaves boiled as greens or to make soup
Sugar Pine	Pinus lambertiana Dougl.	Food	Nuts eaten, sugar eaten as delicacy, pitch chewed for gum
		Decorative	Seeds used as beads
Sweetcicely	Osmorhiza berteroi DC.	Food	Boiled leaves used for food
Tanoak	Lithocarpus densiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehd.	Food	Pulverized, leached acorns used to make mush, gruel, soup, bread
Thimbleberry	Rubus parviflorus Nutt.	Food	Berries eaten raw
		Tools	Leaves used to wrap food for baking.
Timber Mushroom	Boletus edulis	Food	Baked on hot stones, baked in the oven, or fried
		Dye	Bark used
Tolmie Startulip	Calochortus tolmiei Hook. & Arn.	Food	Baked or boiled bulbs eaten like baked or boiled potatoes.
Tomcat clover	Trifolium willdenowii Spreng.	Food	Raw or steamed buds eaten before plant bloomed
Toyon	Heteromeles arbutifolia var. arbutifolia	Food	Berries eaten raw, cooked, or dried for later use
Tule	Scirpus sp.	Basketry	Used to make throw-away baskets
		Boats	Reeds used to build boats
		Housing	Used as thatch and mats
Turkey Mullein	Croton setigerus Hook.	Fishing	Pounded roots thrown into pools to stupefy fish
Turkey Pea	Sanicula tuberosa Torr.	Food	Tuberous roots eaten raw
Twining Snakelily	Dichelostemma volubile (Kellogg) Heller	Food	Bulbs eaten
Vernalpool Clusterlily	Brodiaea minor (Benth.) S. Wats.	Food	Roots steamed and eaten.
Water Parsley	Lotus scoparius (Nutt.) Ottley	Food	Raw or cooked stems used for food
Wavyleaf Soaproot	Chlorogalum pomeridianum (DC.) Kunth	Food	Leaves eaten fresh or stored for later use
		Poison	Bulb used to poison fish
		Cleaner	Bulb used as a soap
		Misc.	Fibrous roots used to make brushes
Western Brackenfern	Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn	Food	Young fronds eaten raw or cooked
		Basketry	Roots used
Western Chokecherry	Prunus virginiana var. demissa (Nutt.) Torr.	Food	Fruits used for food, late season only
		Basketry	Withes used as overlay twine weft bases in the manufacture of baskets.
White Alder	Alnus rhombifolia Nutt.	Medicine	Numerous uses
		Basketry	Roots used
		Dye	Inner bark and fresh bark used
		Weapons	Young shoots used to make arrows
Whiteleaf Manzanita	Arctostaphylos manzanita Parry	Medicine	Several uses
		Drink	Berries mixed with water
		Food	Berries made into bread, mush, or pinole, or stored for later use
		Ceremony	Burned for cleansing (smudging)
		Soap	Leaves boiled and yellowish red extract used as a cleansing body wash
Winecup Fairyfan	Clarkia purpurea ssp. viminea (Dougl. ex Hook.) H.F. & M.E. Lewis		Seed dried or parched, pulverized and used for food
Wooly Angelica	Angelica tomentosa S. Wats.	Food	Peeled stems eaten raw
Woolyleaf Manzanita	Arctostaphylos tomentosa (Pursh) Lindl.	Drink	Berries used to make cider
		Food	Seeds ground to make flour for mush, biscuits
		Smoke	Leaves smoked
Woolypod Milkweed	Asclepias eriocarpa Benth.	Clothing	Stem fibers shredded to make women's skirts
		Cordage	Stem fibers used to make two ply string
Wormwood	Artemisia dracunculus L.	Fishing	Burned branches used as torches during night fishing
Yellow Mariposa Lily	Calochortus luteus Dougl. ex Lindl.	Food	Roasted bulbs used for food, eaten like potatoes
Yerba Buena	Clinopodium douglasii (Benth.) Kuntze	Medicine	Numerous uses
		Drink	Leaves made into tea, sometimes with mint
Yerba Mansa	Anemopsis californica (Nutt.) Hook. & Arn.

ETHNOBOTANY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Barrett, S. A. and E. W. Gifford 1933 Miwok Material Culture. Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 2(4):11 (p. 166)

Bocek, Barbara R. 1984 Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington. Economic Botany 38(2):240-255

Curtin, L. S. M. 1957 Some Plants Used by the Yuki Indians ... II. Food Plants. The Masterkey 31:85-94

Gifford, E. W. 1967 Ethnographic Notes on the Southwestern Pomo. Anthropological Records 25:10-15 (p. 13)

Goodrich, Jennie and Claudia Lawson 1980 Kashaya Pomo Plants. Los Angeles. American Indian Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles

Merriam, C. Hart 1966 Ethnographic Notes on California Indian Tribes. University of California Archaeological Research Facility, Berkeley

Sapir, Edward and Leslie Spier 1943 Notes on the Culture of the Yana. Anthropological Records 3(3):252-253

Swartz, Jr., B. K. 1958 A Study of Material Aspects of Northeastern Maidu Basketry. Kroeber Anthropological Society Publications 19:67-84