Poaceae Achnatherum speciosum (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth

Desert Needlegrass

Kawaiisu - Food, Unspecified

Use documented by:
Zigmond, Maurice L., 1981, Kawaiisu Ethnobotany, Salt Lake City. University of Utah Press, page 66

View all documented uses for Achnatherum speciosum (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth

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Scientific name: Achnatherum speciosum (Trin. & Rupr.) Barkworth
USDA symbol: ACSP12 (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Desert Needlegrass
Family: Poaceae
Family (APG): Poaceae
Native American Tribe: Kawaiisu
Use category: Food
Use sub-category: Unspecified
Notes: Seeds used for food. When ripe in June, the grass was cut off in bunches, tied together with stems of the grass and thrown over the shoulder into the carrying basket suspended on one's back. Two procedures were used in preparing the seeds for food. First, the grass was spread out on a flat rock, where it was allowed to dry a half day and then threshed by burning. If the fire burned too quickly, green spear grass was added to slow it down. The burned stalks were stirred and lifted with a green stick so that the seeds would fall out. The seeds were gathered and winnowed by being poured from one basket to another. Boiled, the seeds swelled 'like rice.' A cupful would fill a pot. Second, the grass was dried for a day or two and the seeds beaten out. They would be boiled whole or first pounded to a meal and then cooked.

RECRD: 4470 id: 1156

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