MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 107 
Quercus alba, white oak. 
Quercus lyrata, swamp oak. 
Quercus macrocarpa, bur oak. 
Quercus Muhlenbergii, chestnut oak. 
Quercus stellata, post oak. 
The acorns were much used by the Indians, both in a raw state 
or boiled and baked into bread. They are less fatty than other 
nuts, but are equally nitrogenous. Most varieties are more or less 
astringent or bitter, but these disagreeable qualities were removed 
in several ways, most frequently by leaching. This was accom- 
plished as follows: The acorns were shelled by lightly tapping them 
upon a rock with a small stone mallet. The kerneis were then 
pulverized in the hollow of a rock. A basket was packed with coarse 
gravel, a shallow cavity being left on the surface. This cavity was 
lined with fine gravel, then sand, on which the acorn flour was de 
posited. Water was slowly percolated through the mass, and when 
the escaping fluid became clear the process was considered finished. 
Lye was sometimes added to the water to hasten the process, The 
small amount of fat gathering on top of the water when the acorns 
were boiled was skimmed off and used by the Indians as a hair 
oil. 
PLANTS OR FOLIAGE USED AS SALADS OR POTHERBS 
Amaranthus paniculatus, pigweed. 
Amaranthus retroflerus, rough pigweed. 
Salad and potherb. 
Arabis canadensis, sickle-pod. 
Arabis laevigata, smooth rock cress. 
Arabis virginica, Virginia rock cress, 
Potherb. 
Asclepias tuberosa. Butterfly weed. 
It is said that some of the Indians cultivated this plant, cutting 
the young shoots when a few inches long and boiling and serving 
them like asparagus. The young pods were used in soup, like 
gumbo. 
Brassica alba, white mustard. 
Campanula americana, American bellflower. 
Capsella Bursa-pastoris, shepherd’s purse. 
Cardamine bulbosa, bulbous cress. 
Cardamine hirsuta, hairy bitter cress. 
All the above plants were used both as potherbs and salads. 
