604 Plants Used by Indians of the United States. [September, 
Salvia columbarie ; Chia of the Mexicans and Indians of Arizo- 
na, and New Mexico.—The seeds are used by them as food and 
medicine. Steeped in water they form a very nutritive drink for 
the sick. In the form of mush they resemble flax in properties 
and taste. In Mazatlan, Mexico, a drink prepared from the seed 
is sold in the streets. The meal forms a fine poultice for 
wounds, &c. 
Medicago sativa, the introduced plant, alfalfa. The Pah-Utes 
use the seeds ground up and cooked into mush or gruel. The 
Indians and white settlers gather the tender branches and cook 
them as greens. 
Miscellaneous.—Scirpus validus (Tule plant). The Indians of Cali- 
fornia make bread out of the pollen of this plant, and the root is 
eaten by many tribes either raw or made into bread. The leaves 
are woven into mats and are used to cover their huts. 
Typha latifolia (cat-tail rush). The Pah-Utes eat the flowering 
ends, in the spring, raw or cooked. When boiled in water they 
are very tender, making good soup, which is considered a great 
delicacy. 
Eriogonum inflatum.—The tender stems of this plant are rather 
acid, they are eaten raw by the Indians of Southern Utah. 
Porphyra vulgaris, a sea weed commonly called Laver on our 
eastern coast. It is found in nearly all parts of the world at low 
tide. Many of the Indians along the Pacific coast eat this plant 
cooked as greens or with meat. It is much relished by China- 
men and is quite an article of commerce. The Chinamen residing 
along the coast, at low tides, gather this plant, which is easily 
taken from the rocks. It is then placed in round masses to dry, 
after which they are baled and sent to China. It sells from_five 
to eight cents per pound in San Francisco at wholesale, to be 
shipped to China. 
Caulanthus crassicaulis and -Stanleya pinnatifida are eaten raw 
in the spring by the Pah-Ute Indians, the young plants being 
tender, and when cooked taste like cabbage. For this reason 
these plants are called cabbage by the settlers of Utah. The In- 
: = dians gather the seeds and after reducing them to flour make 
Them into mush. 
‘these plants in spring are eaten raw by the Indians of Southern 
liforni aa their ui succulent nature causes them to be prized 
Cotyledon lanceolata, C. pulverulenta, &c.—The tender leaves d 
