372 PLANTS USED BY INDIANS OF MENDOCINO COUNTY, CAL. 
Carum kelloggii Gray. 
Shii-bo'-té (Pomo and Yokia).—A smooth, stender, and mildly aro- 
matic perennial about 5 feet high, which grows abundantly along 
creeks and in open meadows throughout the country, and is well 
known as *‘anise.” The plant has very sparse foliage above, but the 
root leaves with their linear leaflets 2 to + inches in length are very 
prominent in May or June, when they are still tender. They have no 
resemblance to clover, but on account of their sweet. taste and since 
they are greatly relished in the raw state, as clover is, the plant. is 
an) 
oo 
frequently called ‘sweet clover,” a name which is applied also to 
Trifoliiin virescens. 
The most characteristic feature of anise is its fascicle of strong, 
slightly fleshy, and hard-fibrous roots, and the peculiar flat ellipsoidal 
tubers which it bears in varying abundance. Some plants bear only 
one or two tubers about half an inch long, while others in rich land 
are said to bear much larger ones in much greater abundance. 
Together with the semifleshy roots, they form a favorite source of 
food, being eaten raw, cooked like acorn bread, or used for pinole. 
The seeds also have a very agreeable aromatic taste and are largely 
used to flavor other kinds of pinole. The strong outer root fibers, 
which are rigid and quite hard like bamboo, are on this account made 
into compact cylindrical brushes an inch or so in diameter, which are 
used ** for combs.” It is apparent, therefore, that combing the hair, as 
well as the use of soap, is not an operation introduced entirely by the 
white man. The Yuki name of the plant, méa-s7n', has special refer- 
ence to the tubers. 
Cicuta spp. 
Specimens of the poisonous water hemlocks were looked for in vain 
both at Round Valley and at Ukiah and no reliable information about 
~ them was obtained, but I was informed by an old settler that the 
plants do grow in Round Valley, and it is well known that some of 
the species are found in considerable abundance in the adjoining 
counties. It would be very interesting to learn whether the plant is 
used for any purpose or is ever mistaken for other plants with fatal 
results. 
Daucus pusillus Michx. 
Shut-in'-jet (Wailaki).—A small erect annual § to 2 feet high, 
which has very finely dissected leaves and white flowers and looks 
very much like the ordinary cultivated carrot, but has no edible fleshy 
root. It grows In considerable abundance on dry hillsides, but is not 
used for any other purpose than that of a talisman in gambling. — It 
is said that the Spaniards regard it as a valuable remedy for rattle- 
snake bite. The Yuki name is Ads’’-d’-sisht. 
