Great Basin Forager Culture

Common Name	Scientific Name	Use
American Agave	Agave americana L.	Food	Used as one of the most important foods.
Arrowleaf Balsamroot	Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.	Drink	Juice from the stems sucked when thirsty.
		Food	Roasted, ground seeds made into flour and used to make mush, ground seed meal and juniper berries used to make a pudding, root pitch chewed as gum, blooming stems peeled and eaten, roasted, ground seeds made into flour and stored for winter use.
Balsamroot	Balsamorhiza ×terebinthacea (Hook.) Nutt. (pro sp.) [deltoidea × hookeri]	Food	Fresh roots roasted, ground and pounded or eaten raw, dried roots eaten raw.
Bearded Cupgrass	Eriochloa aristata Vasey	Food	Seeds parched, ground and the flour eaten dry.
Big Sagebrush	Artemisia tridentata Nutt.	Ceremony	Sagebrush used by dancers to pat themselves to be made spiritually clean, curing ceremonies.
		Cordage	Bark used to make cordage.
		Food	Seeds roasted, ground into flour and eaten with water, gum chewed as gum.
		Clothing	Bark used to make cloth and sandals, bark frayed and stuffed into moccasins for added warmth.
		Misc.	Wood used for drills, hearths and tinder in the creation of fire by friction, blossoms and leaves used as personal decorations in a spring dance, wood used for tinder in the creation of fire by friction, bark wound about a stick and used as a torch.
Black Hawthorn	Crataegus douglasii Lindl.	Food	Fruit eaten raw or boiled, berries formerly dried and eaten.
Broadstemmed Onion	Allium platycaule S. Wats.	Food	Bulbs roasted and used for food, seeded heads placed in hot ashes for a few minutes, seeds extracted and eaten, green leaves eaten as a relish.
Buckbrush	Ceanothus cuneatus (Hook.) Nutt.	Tools	Wood used to make digging sticks.
California Buckthorn	Frangula californica ssp. californica	Food	Fruit eaten fresh, fruit sun dried, stored in buckskin bags and hung up for winter use.
California Hazelnut	Corylus cornuta var. californica (A. DC.) Sharp	Food	Nut meat eaten raw, nut meat stored for future use.
Chufa Flatsedge	Cyperus esculentus L.	Food	Roots dried, ground and mixed with other foods, roots eaten raw.
Common Devilsclaw	Proboscidea louisianica (P. Mill.) Thellung	Basketry	Used as black decorations for baskets.
Common Spikerush	Eleocharis palustris (L.) Roemer & J.A. Schultes	Food	Bulbs used for food, sap eaten.
Conjested Snakelily	Dichelostemma capitatum ssp. capitatum	Food	Fresh roots eaten raw, roots roasted and ground into flour, roots dried and stored.
Cottontop Cactus	Echinocactus polycephalus Engelm. & Bigelow	Tools	Thorns formerly used as awls in basket making.
Creosotebush	Larrea tridentata var. tridentata	Tools	Lac used to make awl handles.
Cusick's Serviceberry	Amelanchier alnifolia var. cusickii (Fern.) C.L. Hitchc.	Food	Berries eaten fresh, bashed berries formed into cakes, sun dried and eaten as candy, berries eaten dried, mashed berries formed into cakes, sun dried for winter use, boiled and eaten.
Datura or Jimson Weed or Sacred Thornapple	Datura wrightii Regel	Narcotic	Roots used to make a narcotic tea. (Deadly poisonous)
Field Horsetail	Equisetum arvense L.	Music	Plant used for whistles.
Fremont'sa Goosefoot	Chenopodium fremontii S. Wats.	Food	Seeds ground into a meal and eaten.
Fremont's Goosefoot	Chenopodium fremontii S. Wats.	Food	Seeds ground into a meal and eaten.
Giant Wildrye	Leymus condensatus (J. Presl) A. Löve	Famine Food	Seeds stored for times of famine.
Great Basin Springbeauty	Claytonia umbellata S. Wats.	Food	Roots roasted in the sand and eaten.
Green Rabbitbush	Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus (Hook.) Nutt.	Food	Roots used as chewing gum.
		Tools	Peeled stems used for piercing ears in preparation for wearing earrings.
Golden Chinkapin	Chrysolepis chrysophylla var. chrysophylla	Drink	Leaves used to make tea.
Greenleaf Manzanita	Arctostaphylos patula Greene	Smoking	Fire dried, pulverized leaves smoked with other plants or alone.
Herb Sophia	Descurainia sophia (L.) Webb ex Prantl	Food	Seeds parched, ground and eaten as meal, seeds mixed with snow and eaten as ice cream, seeds stored for winter use.
		Drink	Roasted, ground seeds mixed with water and used as a cooling beverage for hot weather.
Indianhemp	Apocynum cannabinum L.	Cordage	Stem fibers twisted and plied into cordage and nets, used as twined weft rows for mats, stem fibers twisted and plied into cordage and nets.
Indian Tea or Mormon Tea	Ephedra viridis Coville	Drink	Leafless needles boiled into a drink, parched, ground seeds used for coffee.
		Medicine	Numerous uses.
Incense Cedar	Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin	Basketry	Bark made into baskets used for picking huckleberries.
Joshua Tree	Yucca brevifolia Engelm.	Basketry	Red-brown inner roots used for basket designs.
Kinnikinnick	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.	Smoking	Roasted, dried leaves mixed with tobacco and smoked.
Largeflower Hawksbeard	Crepis occidentalis Nutt.	Food	Leaves eaten raw.
Mexican Whorled Milkweed	Asclepias fascicularis Dcne.	Food	Species used for food.
Miner's Lettuce	Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata	Food	Leaves eaten raw.
Mountain Tastymustardseed	Descurainia incana ssp. incana	Food	Seeds roasted, cooled, ground, mixed with cold water and eaten, seeds stored for winter use.
		Drink	Seeds dried, cooked, ground, water added, kneaded, water added to make a fine batter and drunk.
Narrowleaf Gromwell	Lithospermum incisum Lehm.	Drink	Roots used to make tea.
Nevada Goosefoot	Chenopodium nevadense Standl.	Food	Seeds parched, ground and eaten as meal.
Nevada Onion	Allium nevadense S. Wats.	Food	Whole plant eaten raw.
New Mexico Giant Hyssop	Agastache pallidiflora ssp. neomexicana var. neomexicana (Briq.) R.W. Sanders	Food	Used as one of the most important foods.
Nutgrass	Cyperus rotundus L.	Food	Raw tubers used for food, tubers made into meal and cooked as cereal.
Pacific Willow	Salix lucida ssp. lasiandra (Benth.) E. Murr	Basketry	Twigs used to make the withes for the three rod foundation coils of baskets, used as the primary basket material.
Parry's Agave	Agave parryi Engelm.	Food	Used as one of the most important foods.
Pinemat Manzanita	Arctostaphylos nevadensis Gray	Food	Berries used for food.
		Smoking	Roasted, dried leaves mixed with tobacco and smoked.
Redosier Dogwood	Cornus sericea ssp. sericea	Misc.	Wood used for cradle board frames.
Rubber Rabbitbush	Ericameria nauseosa ssp. nauseosa var. nauseosa	Food	Root bark chewed like gum.
		Tools	Peeled stems used for piercing ears in preparation for wearing earrings.
Sagebrush Mariposa Lily	Calochortus macrocarpus Dougl.	Food	Bulbs eaten raw, boiled or roasted, bulbs skinned and eaten fresh in spring.
Saltmarsh Bulrush	Schoenoplectus maritimus (L.) Lye	Basketry	Roots used as dark brown or black decorations for baskets.
Sego Lily	Calochortus nuttallii Torr. & Gray	Food	Roots and tubers peeled and eaten roasted or raw, bulbs used for food during the spring, roots dried and eaten or ground and cooked in soup.
Showy Milkweed	Asclepias speciosa Torr.	Food	Dried sap chewed as gum, species used for food.
Siolverberry	Elaeagnus commutata Bernh. ex Rydb.	Food	Seeds used for food.
Silverscale Saltbush	Atriplex argentea Nutt.	Food	Seeds parched, ground into a flour and made into mush.
Singleleaf Pinyon	Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém.	Food	Pinons eaten in the mountains away from home.
Skunkbush Sumac	Rhus trilobata Nutt.	Basketry	Formerly used as withes and splints for baskets.
Small Camas	Camassia quamash (Pursh) Greene	Food	Roots cooked overnight, dried and used for food, dried, ground bulbs made into a pudding.
Small Onion	Allium parvum Kellogg	Food	Bulbs dried and eaten, bulbs dried, ground and cooked in soup.
Smoky Mariposa	Calochortus leichtlinii Hook. f.	Food	Roots and tubers peeled and eaten roasted or raw, roots dried and eaten, roots dried and eaten or ground and cooked in soup.
Smooth Beggartick	Bidens laevis (L.) B.S.P.	Food	Species used for food.
Snowy Thistle	Cirsium pastoris J.T. Howell	Food	Stems peeled and eaten raw.
Tapertip Onion	Allium acuminatum Hook.	Food	Onions eaten raw, boiled or baked in a pit, bulbs roasted and used for food, seeded heads placed in hot ashes for a few minutes, seeds extracted and eaten. leaves eaten as a relish.
Tioga Thistle	Cirsium tioganum var. tioganum	Food	Roots eaten raw or roasted.
Twincrest Onion	Allium bisceptrum S. Wats.	Food	Seeded heads placed in hot ashes for a few minutes, seeds extracted and eaten, leaves eaten as a relish.
Twinleaf Onion	Allium anceps Kellogg	Food	Bulbs roasted and used for food, bulbs roasted in the sand and eaten, bulbs cooked on hot rocks, squeezed into cakes and eaten.
Utah Serviceberry	Amelanchier utahensis Koehne	Food	Berries eaten fresh, berries crushed, dried and used for food.
Western Tastymustardseed	Descurainia pinnata (Walt.) Britt.	Food	Seeds roasted, cooled, ground, mixed with cold water and eaten, seeds stored for winter use.
		Drink	Seeds dried, cooked, ground, water added, kneaded, water added to make a fine batter and drunk.
Western White Clematis	Clematis ligusticifolia Nutt.	Cordage	Used to make carrying nets for snares, used to make bowstrings.