| 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 |
|