USEFUL WILD PLANTS 



genus of herbaceous plants of the Composite family, 

 somewhat resembling Coreopsis, with opposite, finely 

 dissected, strong-scented leaves and yellow flowers 

 (sometimes without rays), furnishes a species or 

 two used as substitutes for tea by the Mexican 

 popuhition. Thelesperma longiioes, Gray, occur- 

 ring from w^estern Texas to Arizona, is commonly 

 known as Cota, and is said to give a red color to the 

 water in which it is boiled. 



'M\\q\\ more appealing to the average taste is a 

 drink that Mexicans sometimes make from the oily 

 kernels of the jojoba nut of Southern California and 

 northern Mexico {Simmondsia Calif ornicaj described 

 previously). Mr. Walter Nordhoff, formerly of 

 Baja, California, informs me that the process fol- 

 lowed is first to roast them and then treat them in 

 the same way as the Spanish people prepare their 

 chocolate. This, I believe, is to grind the kernels 

 together with the yolk of hard boiled egg^ and boil 

 the pasty mass in w^ater with the addition of sugar 

 and milk. When they can afford it a pleasant flavor- 

 ing is given by steeping a vanilla bean for a moment 

 or two in the hot beverage. This makes a nourish- 

 ing drink as well as a savory substitute for one's 

 morning chocolate or coffee. A substitute for choco- 

 late among the American population of some sec- 



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