USEFUL WILD PLANTS 



a few cases this feature is much reduced and the 

 *' berries'' are relished because of the sweet flavor 

 of their mealy pulp. In this edible class are the 

 fruits of the California Juniper {Jumperus Cali- 

 fornica, Carr.), the Utah Juniper {J. Utahensis, 

 Lem.), and the Check-barked or Alligator Juniper 

 (J. pachyphlaea, Torr.). The first two are stunted 

 trees or shrubs of arid regions of pure desert. The 

 last is a tree attaining sometimes a height of fifty 

 feet or more, abundant at rather high elevations in 

 Arizona, New Mexico and Southwestern Texas, and 

 remarkable for its thick, hard bark, deeply furrowed 

 and checked in squares. The ^'berries" of all these 

 species have been approved by Indian palates, and 

 are eaten either raw or dried and ground into a 

 meal and prepared as mush or cakes. Under ne- 

 cessity they might serve to keep body and soul 

 together, those of the Alligator Juniper being con- 

 sidered the best. Cakes made from these are said 

 on good authority to be palatable even to whites, 

 and to have the merit of easy digestibility. 



Little known to Americans but possessing a fas- 

 cination all its own is the so-called Wild Hazel, Goat- 

 nut or Sheep-nut, the fruit of a non-deciduous, gray- 

 ish-green shrub, Shnmondsia Californica, Nutt., 

 locally abundant along the mountain borders of the 



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