WILD SEEDS OF FOOD VALUE 



rays barely a quarter of an inch long, expanding 

 only at evening and earh^ moniing. This and some 

 kindred species have been utilized by the California 

 Indians for pinole. The Chile Tarweed has a spe- 

 cial interest in the fact that in Chile, where it is 

 also abundant, it has been cultivated from very early 

 times. The seeds, when scalded, yield under com- 

 pression a considerable percentage of a mild, agree- 

 able oil, suitable for table purposes, soap-making, 

 and notably for lubricating machinery, as it does 

 not solidify short of 10° Fahr. Some eighty years 

 ago, the plant w^as introduced into cultivation in 

 Europe, where, I believe, it is still grown to some 

 extent, and an oil-cake is made of the seeds for 

 cattle. 



To the traveler in the hill country of central and 

 Southern California and western Arizona a familiar 

 shrub is a species of wild plum with shining, ever- 

 green, holly-like leaves {Pruniis ilicifolia, Walp.), 

 maturing in autumn an abundance of crimson or 

 dark purple fruits in size and appearance like small 

 damson plums. They are disappointing, however, 

 in that they are almost entirely stone, though such 

 thin covering of pulp as there is, is pleasant enough 

 to the taste. It is an interesting fact in connection 

 with the Indian's inventive genius that this fruit be- 



57 



