458 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1911. 
wild grape (Vitis arizonica), choke cherries (Padus melanocarpa and 
P. capuli), the wild rose (the fruit or hips of Rosa fendlert and other 
species), service berries (Amelanchier sp.), mulberries (Morus micro- 
phylla), hackberries (Celtis reticulata), lemita (Schmaltzia trilobata), 
and tomatilla (Lyciwm torreyi, L. pallidum, and other species). Of 
the first two shrubs a Mexican once told the writer that the fruit con- 
sists of ‘‘mucho hueso y poco carne’’ (a large seed and little flesh), 
and this is true of most of those just enumerated. Wild grapes grow 
in many of the mountains, but their fruit is small and sour. Mul- 
berries are found only in the southern part of the State. The trees, 
which stand in the drier canyons and on open stony slopes, are small 
and stunted, and the fruit is undersized and not very juicy. Service 
berries form thickets in most of the mountains, but the berries are 
small and insipid. The fruit of some of the species found in the 
northwestern part of the State is nearly if not quite dry, and so is not 
edible. The tomatilla, a characteristic shrub of the mesas and river 
valleys, bears an abundance of bright red juicy fruit which is eaten 
by the native population, although it does not seem very appetizing. 
Besides these fruits—in the popular sense of the word—the seeds 
of many plants formed part of the food of the Indians. Those of the 
sunflower, a weed which thrives almost everywhere in the West, were 
gathered and ground into meal. This is so rich in oil that it was sel- 
dom used alone but was mixed with other substances. ‘The seeds of 
some of the amaranths (Amaranthus spp.) and goosefoots or lamb’s 
quarters (Chenopodiumspp.) were collected by the Zufiis and Navahos, 
as well as those of purslane (Portulaca oleracea and P. retusa) and of 
certain grasses. The Apaches depended upon a sort of bread made 
from the ground legumes and seeds of the mesquite and the tornillo 
or screw bean (Strombocarpa pubescens). ‘The pods of these shrubs 
are rich in sugar and sweet to the taste. Children are often seen 
chewing them and they are relished by stock of all kinds. The 
Zuiis gathered cedar berries and after grinding them formed the meal 
into cakes. Young fruits of the wild gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) 
were cooked in various ways. 
Besides the seeds of the lamb’s quarters the plants themselves, the 
leaves and young shoots, were cooked as “greens,” just as they fre- 
quently are in other parts of North America. Additional succulent 
plants such as the purslane, the Rocky Mountain bee weed (Peritoma 
serrulatum), a small composite (Pectis angustifolia), and many others 
were treated in the same way. All plants used thus are known by 
the Spanish name of quelite. It seems almost incredible to anyone 
familiar with the bee weed that it could ever be eaten. It is one of 
the most common plants of the northern part of the State, covering 
large extents of mesa land. Its stems and leaves when crushed give 
off a most offensive odor, but this is said to disappear upon cooking. 
Only the young shoots are used as food. 
