92 PLANTS USED BY THE KLA.MATH INDIANS. 



The stems are used to make arrow shafts for hunting small game, sueh 

 as waterfowl. The rod like tips of such arrows are made of currant 

 wood, probably Eibes cereum. 



CYPERACEAE. 



Carex sp. 



Bha'-ne. — A tall sedge or marsh grass with pubescence on the base 

 of the leaves and the upper part of the leaf sheaths, abundant along 

 the muddy margins of Klamath Lake, on the shoreward side of the 

 tules. The long, tough, but rather light and buoyant, leaves are woven 

 into mats, commonly 1 to 2 cm. thick {about two-fifths to four fifths of an 

 inch). The mats consist of small parallel bundles of the leaves fastened 

 together at intervals by interlaced strands of some strong textile mate- 

 rial, commonly in old times the Rocky Mountain flax, Linum leiciaii. 

 Th*» plant was not seen in flower or fruit, but it is probably a Oarex. 



Carex sp. 



Wich'-pl. — A tall, coarse sedge, common about the margins of Kla- 

 math Lake, in shallow water. It was not seen in flower or fruit, but 

 probably belongs to the genus Carex. In early summer the growing 

 stems, stripped of leaves and peeled, are used fresh for food, the white 

 pith-like tissue being tilled with a very palatable sugary juice. The 

 tuberous base of the stem is also used for food under the name kha-als'. 



Scirpus lacustris occidentalis Wats. 



Ma'4. — The common tule of marshes and lake borders, abundant in 

 the Klamath country. The steins are commonly used in the construc- 

 tion of mats after the manner of bha'-ne. Carex sp. In the making of 

 certain closely woven baskets, especially the small ones used as bats, 

 thin strips from the surface of a tule stem, twisted, doubled, and twisted 

 again, are used, under the name of twach, for the uprights. Mok'-was 

 is the name used for the stained tule strands of which the black figures 

 in these baskets are made. The color is obtained by immersing selected 

 stems of tule in the black mud which surrounds the sulphur springs of 

 the region. The yellow patterns are made with porcupine quills, 

 sml'-arn, dyed with a yellow lichen, Erernia nilpina, which see. 



The seeds of tule, ma'-em Ia'-wals, are sometimes used for food, 



JUNCACEAE. 

 Juncus balticus Willd. 

 Tsin-a'-o. — The commonest rush of the region, growing on sandy 

 shores, especially in alkaline soils, and everywhere known as wire 

 grass. The tough green stems are sometimes used in the weaving of 

 mats and light baskets, and the Indians often weave from them small 

 spoons for temporary use. 



