HERBS 



H-5. COMMON CAMASS, Camassia 

 quamash ; Lilj' Fani. 5 species occur 

 in the west. About 2' tall, with single, 

 tall flower stalk coming from middle; 

 flowers mostly a brilliant blue, but 

 sometimes almost white. Grows in 

 moist ground and wet meadows. 



Bulbs are very nutritious and are 

 highly thought of by Indians who will 

 travel a long way to gather them. Af- 

 ter the seeds are ripe in the spring, 

 they dig up the bulbs with long, crook- 

 ed sticks (usually made of Mt. Mahogany). Then a fairly deep hole 

 is made and lined with fire-heated stones. Bulbs are placed in- 

 side and covered with hot ashes and stones and allowed to cook 

 for 24 hours. They are eaten right from the fire or the black out- 

 er coating is peeled off and the bulb pressed by hand into a flat 

 cake and hung to dry in sacks, becoming a tid-bit at feasts. 



A molasses was also made of bulbs by boiling in water until it 

 was almost evaporated. The early California settlers learned the 

 value of the bulbs and would make pies of them. But eaten to ex- 

 cess, the bulb will act as a purgative and emetic. The greenish- 

 white flowers of the Death Cnmass often grow with the blue and 

 care must be used in digging bulbs. 



PETALS WHITE. 

 GLAND YELLOW 



H-6. SEGO LILY, Calo- 



chortus nuttallii . There were 



SURROUNDED -BY several species of Calochor- 



DARK PURPLE |.^g j^^y ^gg^j j^y ^-i^g Indians. 



All are told by the few, showy 

 flowers (white, rose, purple, 

 red or yellow), each with pet- 

 als marked with dark spots, 

 blotches or lines. 



Indians dug the bulbs when 

 first flower buds appeared, 

 roasted them in ashes after 

 fire had died down, and also 

 steamed them. Seeds were 

 f/? parched for pinole meal. 



Mead. 



MCF 



CCF 



Most States 



Grass 



Oak 



MCF 



Sage 



Pin-Jun. 



Most States 



