Edible Plants and Wild Resources of the Chihuahuan...
Transcript of Edible Plants and Wild Resources of the Chihuahuan...
Edible Plants and Wild Resources of the
Chihuahuan Desert
By Katherine Brooks, M.A. Archaeology
New Mexico State University
Over the past two thousand
years the Southwest has been
continuously occupied. For
the majority of that time
humans sustained themselves
by gathering plants and other
materials which were
abundant in the Chihuahuan
Desert. Today, we are still
surrounded by many of those
same wild resources. It is the
goal of this presentation to
examine both native uses for
indigenous resources, and to
explore present day purposes
and benefits for the continued
use of native vegetation.
The Chihuhuan Desert and
surrounding land area is mostly
shrub. Yuccas and agaves, growing
with grasses and often Creosote
Bushes, give this desert its
characteristic appearance.
Prickly-pears and Mormon Tea are
also prevalent, as is Tarbush.
Honey Mesquite grows along
washes and playas. White-thorn
Acacia, Allthorn and Ocotillo are
other large, conspicuous plants of
the Chihuahuan Desert.
•Consumption of cactus pads
was practiced among the
majority of Southwestern
cultures predominately during
times of food shortage because
the joints and stems were
tasteless and mucilaginous
(Ebeling 1986:516). Hopi
boiled and ate the stems of
Opuntia sp. in the spring and
summer (Hough 1897). Other
cooking practices for the cactus
pads and joints included drying
and pit-baking (Russell 1975).
•Nearly 1,000 plant species are
endemic to the region and 345
of them are cacti!
Prickly Pear, Opuntia sp.
•Prickly pears are very shallow rooted. It
can survive long-term drought conditions
or variable climates because it can obtain
moisture from light rain showers and
store the moisture in succulent pads
protected by a waxy coating.
Tohono O’odham communities
used to create a fermented
prickly pear fruit beverage
called navai’t (Castetter and
Underhill 1935:26).
•Creosote leaves can be used to make tea (DerMarderosian and Beutler 2005),
ethnographic studies support the use of creosote as a medicinal tea
documenting its use among the Seri, Tohono O’odham, Maricopa and Yavapai
(Ebeling 1986, Whalen 1977:210).
Creosote Bush, Larrea tridentata
•Normally the creosote bush, which
is considered a medium to large
shrub is under 4 feet tall. However,
with plenty of water, it may reach as
much 12 feet tall. The creosote
plant can survive without any rain
for two years, making it the North
American champion for drought
tolerance.
•The Mogollon probably grew Helianthus
petiolaris or wild sunflower, one of the few New
World plants that originated in the North
American Southwest (Ebeling 1986).
•Extremely drought tolerant , fast growing and
colorful.
Sunflowers, Helianthus petiolaris
Mormon Tea, Ephedra viridis
•Navajos used the tea for coughs
and nasal congestion; the plant
contains pseudoephedrine!
•This medium-sized shrub is drought resistant,
grows up to 4 feet high and has numerous
green, jointed, leafless branches.
•Today it is one of only three remainders of
what in ancient times was a much larger
Family, having endured not just one mass
extinction, 65 million years ago, which
demolished +/- 70% of extant species) but a
previous event 250 million years ago, when
about 90% of species disappeared.
•Yucca stalks were boiled and eaten
in the spring (Bell and Castetter
1941:14). However, Yucca root is
also very fibrous and was used as a
detergent and shampoo among many
pueblo cultures and would have been
heated, stirred and agitated in a
vessel to release the saponin content
of the root.
Yucca sp.
•Yucca species thrive in rocky, dry
soil with full sunlight. Generally
they grow to be about ten feet tall,
they are highly drought resistant
and produce edible fruits and
cream colored flowers.
Pinyon Pine, Pinus sp.
It may reach up to 35 feet, but the norm is more likely 10 feet. A native to high
plains, mesas, plateaus, canyons, foothills and lower mountain slopes, the pinyon
pine requires little water, produces wonderful cones, large for pine, and quite
edible and tasty. It is frost resistant, tolerant of drought, and requires full
sunlight.
White Thorn Acacia, Acacia constricta
•The individual plant may look
almost frothy with its small, green
lace-like leaves. It often loses its
leaves during frigid weather or a
prolonged drought. It blossoms in
the spring and sometimes again in
late summer, bearing miniature
yellow blooms and producing a
sweet nighttime desert fragrance.
•Modern desert inhabitants plant
the Whitethorn Acacia in gardens,
knowing the plant requires
relatively little water, attracts
wildlife (i.e., quail, dove, and other
birds), and enriches the
surrounding soil.
•Acacia grows from a few feet to 15 or
16 feet in height, often forming dense
thickets.
http://www.desertusa.com/mag09/apr09/whitethorn-acacia.html
•The Chihuahuan Desert receives only about 10 inches of rainfall per year.
•As a unique and diverse environment, the Chihuahuan Desert should be
utilized for those qualities.
•And, just because grass, trees and flowers not indigenous to the region can
grow here, doesn’t mean that we should use our limited resources to foster
there growth.
Conclusion
References
Russell, Frank
1975[1908] The Pima Indians. Tucson: University of Arizona Press.
Ebeling, Walter
1986 Handbook of Indian Foods and Fibers of Arid America. Berkeley: University
of California Press.
Harrington, Harold D.
1967 Edible Plants of the Rocky Mountains. Albuquerque: University of New
Mexico Press.
Bell, Willis H., and Edward F. Castetter
1941 Ethnobiological Studies in the American Southwest: The Utilization of Yucca,
Sotol, and Beargrass by the Aborigines in the American Southwest. The
University of New Mexico Bulletin Vol. 5, No. 5:3-74.
Castetter, Edward F., with Willis H. Bell and Alvin R. Grove
1938 Ethnobiological Studies in the Southwest: The Early Utilization and the
Distribution of Agave in the American Southwest. The University of New
Mexico Bulletin Vol. 5, No. 4:3-92.
Castetter, Edward F., and Willis H. Bell
1942 Pima and Papago Indian Agriculture. Albuquerque: University of New
Mexico Press.
Castetter, Edward F., and Ruth M. Underhill
1935 Ethnobiological Studies in the American Southwest: The Ethnobiology of the
Papago Indians. The University of New Mexico Bulletin Vol. 4, No. 3:3-84.