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- Christmas Cholla (Opuntia leptocaulis)
Common names: Christmas Cholla, Desert, Christmas Cactus; sometimes confused with Pencil Cholla Scientific name: Opuntia leptocaulis Description: A narrow-stemmed cactus with pale yellow flowers, small bright red fruit, and long golden spines. The fruit remains on the plant even in the winter. Dye: None. Other uses: May be prepared as a food or beverage by Acoma, Hopi, Laguna, Maricopa, Navajo, Papago, Pima, and Yavapai. Considered a famine food by Acoma/Laguna. - Creosote (Larrea tridentata)
Common name: Creosote, Greasewood, Covillea Scientific name: Larrea tridentata Description: Creosote is a tough desert evergreen shrub with flexible stems, small greasy or waxy green leaves, and small yellow flowers. The leaves have a distinctive smell, especially following rain. The Tohono O’odham (Papago) and Pima say it was the first plant created. It is the single most widely-used and frequently-employed medicinal herb in the Sonoran Desert. This plant is known as “greasewood” among the O’odham and many ranchers, but to most other people greasewood is Sarcobatus, a Mohave and Great Basin shrub. The Spanish name "gobernadora" is a political commentary - this fairly new name was invented in northern Mexico and meant to be associated with the already established name of "hediondilla" (little stinker). The Pima name is shegoi. Uses: Widely used for medicinal purposes by Acoma, Apache, Gosiute, Hopi, Jemez, Keres, Navajo, Pima, and Southern Paiute. Also used variously for construction, as tools (such as digging sticks and handles), ceremonial/ritual purposes, and carved into knitting needles (Navajo). The Seri smoked the galls like tobacco. The sap (or lac, actually a scale insect) is also used as a sealant (Pima and Papago). - Mesquite (Prosopis spp.)
Common name: Mesquite Scientific name: Prosopis spp. Description: Mesquite is a relatively common tree in the southern Southwest, with a variety of species present as far north as the Verde Valley in Arizona. The tree grows relatively quickly, has catkin-like clusters of leaves, and sweet-smelling bead pods. The pods are either sweet or bitter depending on the variety. Uses: Mesquite has been an important food source for indigenous peoples. The Tohono O’odham (Papago) are on the verge of commercial success with this crop. Mesquite flour also has major conservation potential, in that it can be made into “bread” without baking. The Pima have traditionally crushed and soaked mesquite pods in water to produce a drink called vau. Mesquite wood is hard, attractive, and in high demand for quality furniture. Mesquite has recently surpassed hickory as the most popular smoke flavoring for food. Because of the overharvesting, its wood should not be used for this purpose; burning dried pods imparts the same flavor. Both indigenous peoples and early European/American settlers used the tree's inner bark as material for basketry, coarse fabrics, and medicine to treat a variety of disorders. Gum exuded from the stem is used for manufacture of candy (gumdrops), mucilage for mending pottery, and black dye. - Murphy's Agave (Agave murpheyi)
Common name: Agave, Hohokam Agave Scientific name; Agave murpheyi Descriptive: Murphy's Agave is a relatively small agave variety. The leaves are fleshy, light blue-green to yellow-green, spined along the edges and at the leaf tip, and grow in a rosette from the heart of the plant. Uses: Extensively cultivated for food and fiber by the prehistoric Hohokam of southern Arizona. - Cholla (Cylindropuntia spp.)
Common names: Cholla, Chain Fruit Cholla; Jumping Cactus; Teddy Bear Cholla, Staghorn Cholla, among others Scientific name: Cylindropuntia spp. Description: A branching cactus with a woody base and segmented "branches" and excessive spines Fruits and flowers vary. Dye: None. Other uses: Various parts (bud, fruit, root) prepared as food/beverage by Acoma, Apache, Laguna, Cocopah, Hano, Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Laguna, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Papago, Pima, Yavapai, and Zuni. Acoma use(d) spines for tattooing and sewing. Several groups also use(d) plant parts for medicinal/ceremonial/symbolic purposes. Cholla buds are still eaten by the Tohono O'odham (Papago). Archaeological evidence also suggests the Hohokam cultivated the plants near residences. - Arizona Barrel Cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni)
Common name: Barrel Cactus, Candy Barrel, Compass Barrel, Fishhook Barrel Cactus Scientific name: Ferocactus wislizeni Description: Squat barrel-shaped cactus with long, curved spines, yellow to orange colored flowers, and yellow fruit. Dye: None. Other uses: The Seri and other groups use this particular barrel cactus as an emergency water source; Seris have survived on it for as long as a month. The Tohono O’odham eat the fruit as an emergency food (year-round). The Seri also eat the flowers and buds. - Desert Cattail (Typhus dominguensis)
Common name: Cattail Scientific name: Typhus dominguensis Description: Tall reed-like perennial with long narrow leaves and soft, dense flower spikes. Uses: The Pima use the split, dry stalks for coiled basketry. The cattail flower, wupdaj, can be used to make pillows - mo'ochkud is 'pillow.' Both the roots and flowers/pollen are also edible. Pollen also played(s) a role in ceremony for many Native American people. - Saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea)
Common name: Saguaro Scientific name: Carnegiea gigantea Description: A towering cactus with upraised "arms," large white flowers, and red fruit. Dye: None. Other uses: The saguaro fruit is an important seasonal food, available after the season called the “Painful Moon” or “Hunger Hurting Moon.” The beginning of the Tohono O’odham and Piman year is haashañ bahidag mashad, the “Saguaro Harvest Moon.” In June and early July, O’odham live in temporary camps in the saguaro forests and conduct the saguaro fruit harvest (hasañ bahidaj). Women use poles made from saguaro ribs to knock down saguaro fruits. The pulp is boiled down to a syrup and prepared as a wine that is consumed during the rainmaking ceremony. The seeds may be dried for a winter snack, or ground into flour and made into a gruel. The Pima have traditionally dried the fruit and prepared it as jam and syrup - ground seeds were mixed with grains to make a porridge or peanut butter-like paste. - Fremont Cottonwood (Populus fremontii)
Common name: Cottonwood Scientific name: Populus fremontii Description: A fast-growing deciduous tree with furrowed gray bark on mature tree parts and light green smooth bark on new stems. Leaves are broad based and roughly triangular, with toothed edges. Uses: Predominantly used as fuel and for construction. Parts may be processed for use as chewing gum (Apache, Acoma/Laguna, Navajo). Also used for a wide variety of medicinal/ceremonial/symbolic purposes (including hair/textile dyes), in addition to carvings (such as kachina dolls), basketry, and tool parts (esp. handles for lithic blades). - Lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla)
Common name: Lechuguilla Scientific name: Agave lechuguilla Description: Lechuguilla is a slender-leaved member of the Agave family. The leaves are rigid and end in a sturdy sharp point capable of penetrating most clothing, as well as skin. Uses: Southwest Native Americans have used fibers from the leaves (commonly called ixtle, but also a hard fiber known by the trade name Tampico fiber) to make ropes and mats. - Ironwood (Olneya tesota)
Common name: Ironwood Scientific name: Olneya tesota Description: Ironwood is a desert evergreen with dark gray bark and small dark green leaves clustered like those on mesquite. The tree produces small pinkish flowers and seed pods between May and early summer. Desert ironwood makes excellent firewood; it burns long and hot and makes good coals. Harvest for woodcarvings and charcoal has nearly extirpated large trees in most of Sonora, and campers and illegal woodcutters are depleting accessible populations in the United States. Because of their slow growth rate and historic-modern depletion, it has become illegal to harvest and/or burn ironwood; this tree is protected in both Sonora and Arizona. Uses: The wood is extremely dense; it will not float in water. The Seri Indians favor the ironwood to make their famous wood carvings - a craft developed in the early 1960s for tourist trade. The seeds could also be used as food, if leached and then ground. - Shrub Live-Oak (Quercus turbinella)
Common name: Live Oak Scientific name: Quercus turbinella Uses: Acorns (nuts) widely eaten as food by Acoma, Apache, Cocopah, Gosiute, Havasupai, Hualapai, Laguna, Mohave, Navajo, Papago, Pima, Southern Paiute, Tewa, Uintah Ute, Yavapai, and Yuma. Variously used for making tools/tool parts (digging sticks, handles, etc.), ceremonial/ritual purposes, and as a tannin (Apache). Sap may also be used as chewing gum or as an adhesive (Navajo). - Prickly Pear (Opuntia spp.)
Common name: Prickly Pear Scientific name: Opuntia spp. Description: A variety of prickly pear species grow in the Southwest, all with large fleshy pads and dark red to purple fruits. Dye: Ground up cochineal (a scale insect that feeds on prickly pear) were processed by native peoples to create red or purple textile dyes. In Europe this color of dye was so rare that only royalty could afford it. In some kingdoms the colors “royal purple”(derived from a sea cucumber) and, after discovery of the New World, royal crimson from cochineal, were reserved for the king by law. Cultivation and export of cochineal dye became a major economic activity, and its source was kept secret for many years. Other uses: Pads and fruit may be prepared as food or beverage by Acoma, Apache, Laguna, Cochiti, Havasupai, Hopi, Isleta, Navajo, Papago, Pima. Isleta have used dried pulp for candlemaking. Also used for medicinal/ceremonial/symbolic purposes by several groups. - Roasted Agave Hearts
Subject: Roasted agave hearts. - Englemann Prickly Pear (Opuntia engelmannii)
Common names: Prickly Pear, Cactus Apple Scientific name: Opuntia engelmannii Description: Englemann prickly pear is the largest of Arizona's prickly pear species, with large pads and dark-red to purple pear-shaped fruits. Dye: Rose-colored from fruits. Other uses: Food and medicine.