PARTS AND PROPERTIES OF PLANTS 



Tewa names designating parts of plants do not correspond closely 

 with those used in English. A part which may be designated in Eng- 

 lish by a single term is frequently called by various terms in Tewa 

 according to the species. Thus: Eng. 'bark', Teyf a, k'^owa, said of 

 most trees, but qivibe^ said of the one-seeded juniper; Eng. 'stalk,' 

 Tewa ^V', said of many plants, but Fii'ii, 'corn stalk.' Again, the 

 opposite is f i-equently true. Thus Tewa ka is applied to leaves, petals 

 of flowers, and needles of coniferous trees. 



Another interesting feature is the extension of application of a 

 word originally used to denote one conception onl}'^, to include related 

 conceptions. Thus the Tewa called the pifion tree to, while to is used 

 for the pinon nut, the seed of the pifion tree, and original etymologi- 

 cal connection between to and to seems certain after an examination 

 of cognate words in other Tanoan languages. The Tewa of the 

 present day, however, apply to also to the seeds of some other conif- 

 erous trees, thus: yws^fiio, 'seed of the rock pine ' (??mj^7?, rock pine; 

 to, pinon nut, nut), and even to any kind of introduced nut, peanuts, 

 the kind of introduced nuts with which the Tewa are most familiar, 

 being regularly called to. 



It is commonly supposed that the vocabularies of Indian languages 

 are meager and that to translate scientific works into them would be 

 almost impossible. Quite the opposite is true, at least as regards 

 Tewa, the vocabulary of which is rich and capable of expressing 

 abstract thought. Indeed, it would be possible to translate a treatise 

 on botany into Tewa, although the translation would be somewhat 

 clumsy. 



Flowers, their Parts and Functions 



Poil, 'flower', 'flowering plant.' This word applies to any flowers. 



The name of the species is often propounded, thus: k'a''^j)obl, ' wild 



rose flower' {Jca''^, wild rose; potl, flower). PoVi is evidently 



cognate with the second syllable of Isleta napap, 'flower,' etc. 



The winged fruit of teje^i, 'box-elder' (see fig. 1), is also called jr)6>&l. 



The relation of the wing to the seed is similar to that of the petals to 



the seed of a flower. The true flower of the box-elder is also called 



poVi. 



Pdb\ is very commonly used meaning 'flowering plant,' as English 

 'flower.' (Compare Tennyson's "Flower in the crannied wall.") 

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