Onagraceae Oenothera albicaulis Pursh

Whitest Eveningprimrose

Zuni - Other, Ceremonial Items

Use documented by:
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #30, page 87

View all documented uses for Oenothera albicaulis Pursh

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Scientific name: Oenothera albicaulis Pursh
USDA symbol: OEAL (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Whitest Eveningprimrose
Family: Onagraceae
Family (APG): Onagraceae
Native American Tribe: Zuni
Use category: Other
Use sub-category: Ceremonial Items
Notes: Chewed blossoms rubbed on the bodies of young girls so that they could dance well and ensure rain. The blossoms were given by the High Priest and the Sun Priest of the Corn Maidens. The girls chewed the blossoms, ejected the mass into their hands and rubbed it on the neck, breast, arms and hands ensuring that they would dance well so that it would rain and the corn would grow.

RECRD: 32959 id: 24269

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