146 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 1 1 



Lettuce (Lactuca saliva L.), lechuga. Fairly common. 

 More of the romaine than the head type. 



Onions (Allium cepa L.), ceboUa in Spanish, xonacatl in 

 Mexicano, and tsurups in Tarascan. The Indians 

 transferred their names for native wild onions. Com- 

 mon. Planted January-April, gathered June-August. 



Peas (Pisutn sativum L.), chlcharo, guisante. Fairly com- 

 mon. Also field cultivated. 



Potatoes (Solarium tuberosum L.), pa-pa. Introduced by 

 the Spaniards from South America so that the species 

 cultivated in Quiroga probably is Solanum andigenum 

 Juz. & Buk. var. mexicanum Buk., which reached Mexico 

 from Peru or Colombia by 1570. Unimportant; used as 

 a flavoring instead of a vegetable. Planted March- 

 April, harvested July-August. There are several wild 

 species of potatoes in the region. 



Radishes (Raphanus sativus L.), T&hano. Minor. The 

 introduced wild radish is a common weed. 



Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), jitomate, toma 

 cuaraki, xucupara. Fairly common. Old unimproved 

 strains. Used as flavoring, in soups and sauces. 



Husk tomatoes (Physalis spp.), tomate, toma, coztomate, 

 tomatiUo, jaltomate, miltomate. Three or more species 

 are cultivated. Common. The true Mexican tomato, 

 used in the same way as the jitomate or navel tomato. 



Turnip (Brassica rapa L.), nabo. Minor. 



Present in a few gardens and solares but rare are 

 such European vegetables as garlic (ajo) , eggplant 

 (berengena) , mustard (mostaza) , cucumher (pepino), 

 leek (puerro) , and purslane (verdolaga) . No melons, 

 watermelons, peanuts, sweetpotatoes, or jicamas 

 are cultivated locally. It is hard to tell if the 

 various quelites and bledos (Amaranthus spp.; and 

 Chenopodium spp.), as well as chias {Salvia spp.), 

 which can be seen growing in some of the solares 

 are cultivated or adventitious. At any rate, they 

 were cultivated in Quiroga well into the nineteenth 

 century, and they are stUl collected for greens, 

 grains, and oU. Amaranth or bledo is still raised 

 in Santa Fe to provide grain for some of the special 

 tamales. It is planted about April and is harvested 

 in October. The small black and also white seeds 

 of two or more species of chia are ground into meal 

 for a drink (often an atole, mixed with maize meal), 

 fed to caged bh-ds, and oil is expressed for use in 

 finishing some of the bateas. Castor-bean (ricino, 

 higuerilla, palma-christi) and prickly poppy (chi- 

 calote) are no longer cultivated or gathered for 

 commercial purposes, but their oil was sold out 

 of Quhoga as late as the end of the nineteenth 

 century. Also, a number of the field crops are 

 planted in solares, such as colored maize {maiz de 

 colores) which may be blue, red, or pinto; kidney 

 and other beans; and some wheat and alfalfa. 



A large number of ornamental, flavoring, and 



medicinal plants are raised in the inner patio or 

 part of the solar adjacent to the house. Even the 

 homes of the very poorest, or those farthest re- 

 moved from a supply of water, have a few plants — 

 either planted in the gi'ound or in a flowerpot that 

 may vary from a formal terra-cotta pot or maceta 

 to a tin can filled with earth. A full report on the 

 Quiroga patio and its plants will be published at 

 another time, and here we wiU present only a brief 

 outline. Cultivated flavoring plants are chiefly of 

 Old World origin, since the native plants are 

 commonly gathered from the wild flora. The most 

 important flavorings (in addition to chile, corian- 

 der, onions and garlic, tomatoes and husk tomatoes, 

 mustard and leek already mentioned) are: 



Anise (Pimpinella anisum L.), anis. Minor. 



Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), comino. Minor. 



Dill (Anelhum graveolens L.), eneldo. Minor. 



Epazote (Chenopodium ambrosioides L.). Fairly common; 

 used to flavor beans. 



Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Hill.), hinojo. Minor. 



Laurel de comer (Litsea spp.). Fairly common cultivated 

 shrubs whose leaves are used for flavoring food. There 

 are other wild and cultivated species of the genera 

 Sassafridium, Persea, Ocotea, and Nectandra, (commonly 

 known as some kind of laurel, canelo, or aguacatillo) , 

 whose leaves are used in the same fashion. 



Majoram (Origanutn vulgare L.), orfgano. Fairly common. 

 Much u.sed, but most of it is brought in. 



Sweet marjoram (Majorana hortensis Moench), mejorana. 

 Common. 



Parsley (Petroselinum hortense HofiFm.), perejil. Common. 



Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.), yerbabuena, menta. Most 

 widely cultivated. 



An occasional garden may have basQ (albahaca), 

 caraway {alcaravea) , celery iapio), sage (salvia), 

 and thyme (tomillo), but these flavorings are not 

 much used and most of what is consumed is 

 brought in. Other favored flavorings such as 

 cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg are imported. 



Hundreds of plants, both cultivated and wild, 

 are in the local pharmacopoeia, and the majority 

 of the plants used in folk medicine are gathered 

 in the wild state. Nevertheless, a number of 

 native and introduced plants which are cultivated 

 or allowed to grow in the solares should be men- 

 tioned. Most of these plants are to be found 

 mainly on the lands of herb doctors or curanderos, 

 but a few are more widely distributed, such as 

 rue and mayflower. 



Castor-bean (Ricinus communis L.), higuerilla, ricino, 

 palma de cristi. Common cultivated plant and escape; 

 ornamental, economic, medicinal. 



