Abe Lloyd

Before the White man even set foot on the region now known as the Pacific Northwest. Native American Indians had refined the use of plants for uses in their Everyday lives. The study of such plant use is called ethnobotany. This report will give you the knowledge that was once essential to the survival of past Indians, in a easy to use manner. It can be considered a field guide.

To begin with surrounding Indians, the Lummi, Nooksack, and Samish had four basic uses for plants. The first and most important is food. From the woody trees to the swampy marshes, the grassy fields to the tidal shores, the Indians relied heavily on the food they collected for sustenance. Berries were dried, tubers were stored, and fresh greens were gathered so that vegetable matter was eaten all year round. Next in importance came the materials. The Indians built their houses, sewed their clothing, caught their fish, and cooked their food in and with materials that they obtained from there environment. The third major use of the Indigenous plants of the northwest was medicine and charms. Many plants were made into poultices, teas, and concoctions, to cure or attempt to cure the illnesses that the Indians faced. I Lastly the Indians used the plant life for art and entertainment. Beautiful masks were carved depicting several spiritual or natural figures. These carvings were then incorporated into religious ceremonies., story telling. or dancing. Art wasn't limited to just entertainment. Many, of the every day utensils were elaborately decorated. Serving bowls and spoons would be carved and painted, supporting beams for longhouses would be turned into totem poles, and grass mats would be woven with fanciful patterns. All in all, the Indians relied heavily on plants for their survival. and this guide will show you how to do so as well.

For each plant this guide will provide ways in which the Indians used it for food, materials, medicine, and entertainment. However, most of the plants in this guide are included because of the edible qualities. I have chosen specifically to include plants that will be at or close to there prime edibility during the spring season, seeing that those will be the most abundant during our journey.

Typha latifolia L.

DECRIPTION: Plants grow to be about 5-8 feet tall they have long leaves and a stalky appearance, similar to corn. Below the ground they have several long thick roots. The flower (the cat tail) is about 3-7 inches long, brown and velvet in appearance and texture. On top of the brown portion is the male flower which is shorter, and spike like. When brushed pollen may be observed leaving this portion,

HABITAT: The cattail grow mainly in marshy, wetland areas between sea level and 2,5OO feet.

EDIBILITY: Though the Indians used this plant very little for food, the edibility is excellent. The rootstocks were eaten raw by some tribes. I find that the thick roots are tasty if they are cleaned, and boiled in water for about fifteen minutes. The result is a soft food that tastes like sweet potato and corn, the roots are stringy so one must be careful to chew the root, and sort out the fibers in their mouth, while swallowing the soft inner portion. If the roots are picked while they are still young, there are fewer fibers in them. and thus make easier eating. A doe can also be made from the doe. If you boil the roots for about 20 minutes and mash the separate the fibers from the soft portion by stirring and squishing, the roots in the water, the water should become milky. Let that sit overnight, and then decant in the morning, and the remaining, stuff should have a dough like appearance, that can be used as desired. The cattail portion of the plant can be boiled or roasted, and tastes much like corn, and the pollen from the male flower, though scarce, can supplement flour for good pancakes. The lower portion of young leaf stalk is also edible. The white portion can be scraped out and eaten raw.

MATERIALS: The cattail was extensively used for mats, curtains, raincoats, traveling baskets, kneeling pads, and bedding. Tribes were known to travel from their villages in order to obtain this useful plant.

Taraxacum officinale

DESCRIPTION: Leaves grow in a low rosette on this perennial (dies each year) herb. The flower is yellow and grows from a hollow stalk that will secrete a milky substance when squished. In late spring the flower turns into a puffy white seed ball. The root of this plant is much like a carrot.

EDIBILITY: The leaves can be gathered in the spring and early summer and eaten in a salad, or boiled to remove the bitter taste. If they are blanched (covered for a couple weeks) the bitter taste that is found when the plants -et older, will disappear. The tuberous root can also be used as a coffee substitute if dried and , ground, or sliced on a salad.

Montia sibrica

DESCRIPTION: Small succulent herb with a narrow taproot and many stems and pink flowers.

HABITAT: Miners lettuce commonly grows along streams were the soil is full of sand of gravel. It prefers moist conifer forests that provide it with partial shade.

EDIBILITY: This plant is excellent raw, and probably got it's name for that reason. The whole plant can be picked and eaten without any preparation.

Berberris aquifolium

DESCRIPTION: This plant has shinny green leaves that have spins on the points. The leaves sometimes turn red in the summer. They look similar to holly leaves. The flowers are yellow and are in clusters. They are small and abundant. The berries form in the summer and are blue.

HABITAT: Grows in the forest, below trees, and on open slopes. This plant likes the sun.

EDIBILITY: The young leaves are edible and have a pleasant bitter taste. The yellow flowers can also be eaten, and the berries are edible as well.

MATERIALS: The roots can be boiled to obtain a dye

MEDICINE: The juice from the boiled roots is drunken to cure coughs and stomach

disorders. This Juice is also used to cure sores on the skin and in the mouth.

Plantago lanceolata. Plantago major

DESCRIPTION: This plant commonly grows in yards. It has a broadly elliptical leaf with parallel venation originating in a rosette. The fruiting body is a spike that points upward with seeds surrounding it.

HABITAT: Very common to grassy fields and gardens

EDFBILITY-. The leaves are edible but are best when picked when they are very young. As they grow older they get tougher more hairy. If they are to bitter to eat raw they can be boiled. If it is late in the a couple changes of water may be necessary.

Epitobium angustifolium

DESCRIPTION: 3-8 feet tall this large perennial herb is spike like with red colored tops. The flowers are later turn into a white fuzz that blows in the air. The leaves are lance shaped, very narrow and long.

HABITAT: Grows in the full Sun light, getting its name because it grows commonly on slopes that have recently been burned.

EDIBILITY: The young stalks leaves of this plant can be eaten when boiled for about 10 minutes. The gum on the inside of the stalk can also be eaten, and is a pleasant sweet snack for hiking trips.

MATERIALS: The bark from the old plants can be 6 made into twine. This is done by peeling off several pieces, and then rolling them on your thigh until they form a single strand.

Thuja plicata

DESCRIPTION: Tall tree with green scaly leaves and brown stringy bark

HABITAT: Grows well in moist soil and deep woods

MATERIALS: This plant was probably the single most important plant to the Indians of the Northwest. House planks, house posts, roof boards, and canoes were made exclusively from cedar. Bent wood boxes, cradles, fire drills, fish racks, and masks were made from this tree. A lasting black paint could also be produced from the charcoal of cedar when mixed with salmon eggs, and held in smoke and rubbed with grass.

The bark was also very important. Clothing could be woven out of the bark after it had been removed from the tree, stripped of the outer layers, and beaten. Some fibers were soft enough to line babies cribs with, and use as towels, while the coarser ones went to clothing. Large pieces of the outer bark- were used as plates as well as a lining for cooking pits. Shredded bark was also used to light fires. The bark, the roots, and the limbs can all be used for ropes and baskets.

MEDICINE: The buds are chewed for sore teeth, and swallowed for sore lungs. The leaf ends are boiled for coughs. The inner bark is chewed for kidney problems and to bring about menstruation in a woman.