USEFUL WILD PLANTS 



eroiis gold of its cheery blossoms. The dark gray 

 or blackish seeds of the wild plant are much smaller 

 than those of the cultivated form, but are exceed- 

 ingly numerous, with a white, oily, floury content 

 that is rich in nutriment. They used to form an im- 

 portant part of the dietary of the Plains Indians, who 

 sometimes cultivated the jolants amid their corn. 

 The ripe seeds were parched and ground into meal, 

 and bread made of this meal has been spoken of 

 with approbation by white travelers — even as the 

 equal of corn bread. There can be no doubt of its 

 value in situations where the flours of civilization 

 are difficult to procure. As a source of oil sunflower 

 seed is by no means insignificant, yielding, according 

 to Havard, about twenty per cent, of an excellent 

 table article. To most of us, indeed, the Wild Sun- 

 flower is a plant of unsuspected uses: its stalks 

 possess a fibre of some worth and its flowers are 

 good honey producers as well as a basis of a yellow 

 dye said to be fast.^ 

 In our Spanish Southwest the term pinole is in use 



5 Helianthus annuus is a coarse, much branched plant, three to 

 six feet tall, the rough stem frequently mottled, the root (being 

 annual) easily pulled up. The large flower heads are yellow-rayed 

 with a dark center that is an inch or so across. Leaves petioled, 

 ovate, six inches or more long, with toothed edges, rough to the 

 touch. The seeds of the closely related species, H. petiolaris, Nutt., 

 are similarly useful. 



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