EDIBLE STEMS AND LEAVES 



of turning tliomselves out to pasture, to feast upon 

 llie patches of wild clover. This they ate raw and 

 with greedy avidit}', before the flowering stage, while 

 the plants were still young and tender. In fact, 

 clover was another of tlie aboriginal food plants 

 esteemed as so important as to be lionored with 

 especial dance ceremonies. Chesnut speaks of see- 

 ing groups of Indians in Mendocino Count}^, Cali- 

 fornia, wallowing in the ^\ild clover, plucking the 

 herbage and eating it by the handful. Its nutritive 

 content is unquestioned, if only one have the diges- 

 tive organs to handle it, chemical analysis of the 

 leaves showing the presence of food elements in 

 good degree. Intemperate indulgence, however, is 

 liable to cause bloat and severe indigestion. The 

 Indians, to obviate this, learned that dipping the 

 leaves in salted water, or munching with them the 

 parched kernels of the Pepper-nut (the fruit of the 

 California Laurel, Umhellularia Calif ornica) is 

 efficacious.^ Not all species of clover are considered 

 equally good. The favorite, still to quote Chesnut, 

 is the so-called "sweet clover" {TrifoJium viresceus, 

 Greene), distinguished by stout, succulent stems, 

 ovate leaflets, large, inflated yellow and pink flowers, 



^j v. K. Chesnut, "Plants Used by the Indians of Mondooino Co., 

 California." 



139 



