Great Basin Mountain Culture

Common Name	Scientific Name	Use
American Agave	Agave americana L.	Food	Used as one of the most important foods.
American Century Plant	Agave americana L.	Food	Used as an important food
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.
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.
Canada Wildrye	Elymus canadensis L.	Food	Seeds gathered for food
Chufa Flatsedge	Cyperus esculentus L.	Food	Roots dried, ground and mixed with other foods, roots eaten raw.
Common Dandelion	Taraxacum officinale G.H. Weber ex Wiggers	Food	Leaves used as food
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.
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.
Gairdner's Yampah	Perideridia gairdneri ssp. gairdneri	Food	Roots used for food
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 Currant	Ribes aureum Pursh	Food	Berries used for food
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.
Kinnikinnick	Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng.	Smoking	Roasted, dried leaves mixed with tobacco and smoked.
Largeflower Hawksbeard	Crepis occidentalis Nutt.	Food	Leaves eaten raw.
Longstalk Springparsley	Cymopterus longipes S. Wats.	Food	Leaves boiled and eaten
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 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.
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.
Peachleaf Willow	Salix amygdaloides Anderss.	Basketry	Used in basketry
		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.
Saltmarsh Bulrush	Schoenoplectus maritimus (L.) Lye	Basketry	Roots used as dark brown or black decorations for baskets.
Sascatoon Serviceberry	Amelanchier alnifolia (Nutt.) Nutt. ex M. Roemer	Food	Berries eaten fresh or dried for later use
Skunkbush Sumac	Rhus trilobata var. trilobata	Food	Fruit eaten raw
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.
Silverberry	Elaeagnus commutata Bernh. ex Rydb.	Food	Seeds used for food.
Silver Buffaloberry	Shepherdia argentea (Pursh) Nutt.	Food	Berries 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.
Skyrocket Gilia	Ipomopsis aggregata ssp. aggregata	Fastener	Whole plant boiled for glue
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.
Smooth Horsetail	Equisetum laevigatum A. Braun	Toys	Used by children to make whidtles
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.
Utah Serviceberry	Amelanchier utahensis Koehne	Food	Berries eaten fresh, berries crushed, dried and used for food.
Western White Clematis	Clematis ligusticifolia Nutt.	Cordage	Used to make carrying nets for snares, used to make bowstrings.
Wood's Rose	Rosa woodsii var. woodsii	Food	Berries used as food
Yellow Missionbells	Fritillaria pudica (Pursh) Spreng.	Food	Bulbs used as food