| Beckmannia syzigachne (Steud.) Fern. American Sloughgrass USDA BESY |
Klamath Food, Unspecified Seeds used for food. Coville, Frederick V., 1897, Notes On The Plants Used By The Klamath Indians Of Oregon., Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 5(2):87-110, page 91 |
| Berula erecta (Huds.) Coville Cutleaf Waterparsnip USDA BEER |
Zuni Drug, Antirheumatic (External) Ingredient of 'schumaakwe cakes' and used externally for rheumatism. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #30, page 44 |
| Berula erecta (Huds.) Coville Cutleaf Waterparsnip USDA BEER |
Zuni Drug, Dermatological Aid Ingredient of 'schumaakwe cakes' and used externally for swelling. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #30, page 44 |
| Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis Yellow Birch USDA BEALA |
Algonquin, Quebec Food, Substitution Food Sap mixed with maple sap if the latter is not available in sufficient quantities. Black, Meredith Jean, 1980, Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65, page 80 |
| Betula lenta L. Sweet Birch USDA BELE |
Algonquin, Quebec Drug, Unspecified Infusion of plant used for many medicinal purposes. Black, Meredith Jean, 1980, Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65, page 151 |
| Betula occidentalis Hook. Water Birch USDA BEOC2 |
Jemez Dye, Red Bark, mountain mahogany bark and alder bark boiled together and used as red dye to paint moccasins. Cook, Sarah Louise, 1930, The Ethnobotany of Jemez Indians., University of New Mexico, M.A. Thesis, page 21 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Algonquin, Quebec Drug, Dermatological Aid Bark powder used for diaper rash and other skin rashes. Black, Meredith Jean, 1980, Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65, page 152 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Algonquin, Quebec Drug, Pediatric Aid Bark powder used for diaper rash and other skin rashes. Black, Meredith Jean, 1980, Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65, page 152 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Algonquin, Quebec Food, Sauce & Relish Sap used to make syrup. Black, Meredith Jean, 1980, Algonquin Ethnobotany: An Interpretation of Aboriginal Adaptation in South Western Quebec, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series Number 65, page 80 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Algonquin, Tete-de-Boule Other, Designs Bark folded, edges chewed and resulting design transferred to baskets and moccasins. Raymond, Marcel., 1945, Notes Ethnobotaniques Sur Les Tete-De-Boule De Manouan, Contributions de l'Institut botanique l'Universite de Montreal 55:113-134, page 119 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Chippewa Dye, Red Inner bark boiled, cedar ashes added and used to make a red dye. Densmore, Frances, 1928, Uses of Plants by the Chippewa Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #44:273-379, page 370 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Cree, Woodlands Drug, Dermatological Aid Dried, finely powdered rotten wood used as baby powder to prevent rashes. Leighton, Anna L., 1985, Wild Plant Use by the Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 32 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Cree, Woodlands Drug, Pediatric Aid Dried, finely powdered rotten wood used as baby powder to prevent rashes. Leighton, Anna L., 1985, Wild Plant Use by the Woods Cree (Nihithawak) of East-Central Saskatchewan, Ottawa. National Museums of Canada. Mercury Series, page 32 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Dakota Other, Containers Fine, shredded bark used as vessels to catch sap from trees in sugar making-time. Gilmore, Melvin R., 1919, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, SI-BAE Annual Report #33, page 75 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Dakota Other, Cooking Tools Fine, shredded bark used as household utensils. Gilmore, Melvin R., 1919, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, SI-BAE Annual Report #33, page 75 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Dakota Other, Lighting Fine, shredded bark bound into bundles and used for torches. Gilmore, Melvin R., 1919, Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region, SI-BAE Annual Report #33, page 75 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Dye, Red Innermost bark boiled to extract a reddish dye. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 425 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Food, Preservative Birch bark keeps the food stored in it from spoiling. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 416 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Other, Preservative Wood had the property of protecting articles stored in it from decay. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 414 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Other, Protection Ojibwe claim that birch was never struck by lightning, hence offered a safe harbor in thunderstorms. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 414 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Other, Sacred Items No birch was gathered by the Ojibwe without due offering of tobacco to Winabojo & Grandmother Earth. Families made a pilgrimage to birch groves during the latter part of June and in July to gather their supply of birch bark, because it peels most easily at that time. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 414 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Other, Sacred Items Paper birch and cedar form the two most sacred trees of the Ojibwe, both of which were very useful. Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 414 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Ojibwa Other, Sacred Items The Ojibwe regard the bark as a distinct 'contribution from Winabojo.' Smith, Huron H., 1932, Ethnobotany of the Ojibwe Indians, Bulletin of the Public Museum of Milwaukee 4:327-525, page 414 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Shuswap Fiber, Basketry Gray colored bark used to make baskets. Palmer, Gary, 1975, Shuswap Indian Ethnobotany, Syesis 8:29-51, page 60 |
| Betula papyrifera Marsh. Paper Birch USDA BEPAP |
Tanana, Upper Other, Fuel Black colored stem growth used as tinder for kindling fires with a fire drill. Kari, Priscilla Russe, 1985, Upper Tanana Ethnobotany, Anchorage. Alaska Historical Commission, page 5 |
| Betula pubescens ssp. pubescens Downy Birch USDA BEPU5 |
Chippewa Fiber, Canoe Material Bark used in boat building. The bark was stripped off at raspberry ripening time, laid away and pressed flat until the next spring. When required for manufacture, especially in boat building, it was heated over a fire to make it pliable for shaping to the purpose. Gilmore, Melvin R., 1933, Some Chippewa Uses of Plants, Ann Arbor. University of Michigan Press, page 128 |
| Betula pubescens ssp. pubescens Downy Birch USDA BEPU5 |
Cree, Hudson Bay Drug, Dermatological Aid Boiled, powdered wood applied to chafed skin. Holmes, E.M., 1884, Medicinal Plants Used by Cree Indians, Hudson's Bay Territory, The Pharmaceutical Journal and Transactions 15:302-304, page 303 |
| Boerhavia erecta L. Erect Spiderling USDA BOER |
Hopi Other, Insecticide Sticky leaves and stem hung in house to catch flies. Whiting, Alfred F., 1939, Ethnobotany of the Hopi, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin #15, page 75 |
| Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr. Sideoats Grama USDA BOCUC2 |
Kiowa Other, Decorations Worn by those, who in battle, had killed an enemy with a lance, grass resembled the feathered lance. Vestal, Paul A. and Richard Evans Schultes, 1939, The Economic Botany of the Kiowa Indians, Cambridge MA. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, page 14 |
| Bouteloua curtipendula var. curtipendula Sideoats Grama USDA BOCUC2 |
Kiowa Other, Decorations Worn by those, who in battle, had killed an enemy with a lance, grass resembled the feathered lance. Vestal, Paul A. and Richard Evans Schultes, 1939, The Economic Botany of the Kiowa Indians, Cambridge MA. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, page 14 |
| Bouteloua curtipendula var. curtipendula Sideoats Grama USDA BOCUC2 |
Kiowa Other, Decorations Worn by those, who in battle, had killed an enemy with a lance, grass resembled the feathered lance. Vestal, Paul A. and Richard Evans Schultes, 1939, The Economic Botany of the Kiowa Indians, Cambridge MA. Botanical Museum of Harvard University, page 14 |
| Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths Blue Grama USDA BOGR2 |
Apache, Western Fiber, Brushes & Brooms Stem used as comb and broom material. Buskirk, Winfred, 1986, The Western Apache: Living With the Land Before 1950, Norman. University of Oklahoma Press, page 189 |
| Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths Blue Grama USDA BOGR2 |
Apache, Western Food, Porridge Seeds ground, mixed with corn meal and water and made into a mush. Buskirk, Winfred, 1986, The Western Apache: Living With the Land Before 1950, Norman. University of Oklahoma Press, page 189 |
| Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths Blue Grama USDA BOGR2 |
Apache, White Mountain Other, Cash Crop Plant gathered and sold. Reagan, Albert B., 1929, Plants Used by the White Mountain Apache Indians of Arizona, Wisconsin Archeologist 8:143-61., page 149 |
| Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths Blue Grama USDA BOGR2 |
Hopi Fiber, Basketry Used as the fill of coiled basketry. Whiting, Alfred F., 1939, Ethnobotany of the Hopi, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin #15, page 64 |
| Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths Blue Grama USDA BOGR2 |
Hopi Food, Forage Used as an important forage grass. Whiting, Alfred F., 1939, Ethnobotany of the Hopi, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin #15, page 64 |
| Bouteloua gracilis (Willd. ex Kunth) Lag. ex Griffiths Blue Grama USDA BOGR2 |
Zuni Fiber, Brushes & Brooms Grass bunches tied together and the severed end used as a hairbrush, the other as a broom. Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #30, page 83 |
| Bouteloua hirsuta Lag. Hairy Grama USDA BOHIH |
Navajo Other, Sacred Items Used to make sacred charcoal for certain ceremonies. Elmore, Francis H., 1944, Ethnobotany of the Navajo, Sante Fe, NM. School of American Research, page 25 |
| Calamagrostis rubescens Buckl. Pinegrass USDA CARU |
Thompson Other, Cooking Tools Grass used in drying soapberries. The grass was washed, braided at the ends and laid out on a rack upon which the soapberries were placed to dry. A small fire was lit under the racks and when the berries were dried, they were stored with the grass still attached. Then, for use, the berries and grass were soaked in water and hand mixed. The grass, which helped to whip the berries, eventually floated to the top after which it was removed. Any remaining grass was removed by the person eating the berry whip. Turner, Nancy J., Laurence C. Thompson and M. Terry Thompson et al., 1990, Thompson Ethnobotany: Knowledge and Usage of Plants by the Thompson Indians of British Columbia, Victoria. Royal British Columbia Museum, page 140 |
| Calamovilfa gigantea (Nutt.) Scribn. & Merr. Giant Sandreed USDA CAGI3 |
Jemez Other, Decorations Plumes used to decorate masks. Whiting, Alfred F., 1939, Ethnobotany of the Hopi, Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin #15, page 65 |
| Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav¢n) DC. Fringed Redmaids USDA CACI2 |
Costanoan Food, Staple Seeds, in great quantities, used for pinole. Bocek, Barbara R., 1984, Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington, Economic Botany 38(2):240-255, page 251 |
| Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav¢n) DC. Fringed Redmaids USDA CACI2 |
Costanoan Food, Unspecified Raw foliage used for food. Bocek, Barbara R., 1984, Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington, Economic Botany 38(2):240-255, page 251 |
| Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav¢n) DC. Fringed Redmaids USDA CACI2 |
Luiseno Food, Unspecified Seeds used for food. Sparkman, Philip S., 1908, The Culture of the Luiseno Indians, University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 8(4):187-234, page 232 |
| Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav¢n) DC. Fringed Redmaids USDA CACI2 |
Luiseno Food, Vegetable Tender plant used for greens. Sparkman, Philip S., 1908, The Culture of the Luiseno Indians, University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology 8(4):187-234, page 232 |
| Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav¢n) DC. Fringed Redmaids USDA CACI2 |
Miwok Food, Unspecified Oily, pulverized seeds pressed into balls and cakes for eating. Barrett, S. A. and E. W. Gifford, 1933, Miwok Material Culture, Bulletin of the Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee 2(4):11, page 152 |
| Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pav¢n) DC. Fringed Redmaids USDA CACI2 |
Numlaki Food, Staple Tiny, jet-black seeds eaten as pinole. Chestnut, V. K., 1902, Plants Used by the Indians of Mendocino County, California, Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 7:295-408., page 346 |
| Calliandra humilis Benth. Dwarf Stickpea USDA CAHUH |
Zuni Drug, Dermatological Aid Powdered root used three times a day for rashes. Camazine, Scott and Robert A. Bye, 1980, A Study Of The Medical Ethnobotany Of The Zuni Indians of New Mexico, Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2:365-388, page 376 |
| Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin Incense Cedar USDA CADE27 |
Klamath Drug, Herbal Steam Branches and twigs used in administering a sweatbath. Coville, Frederick V., 1897, Notes On The Plants Used By The Klamath Indians Of Oregon., Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 5(2):87-110, page 88 |
| Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin Incense Cedar USDA CADE27 |
Klamath Fiber, Basketry Wood used for basket weaving. Coville, Frederick V., 1897, Notes On The Plants Used By The Klamath Indians Of Oregon., Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 5(2):87-110, page 88 |
| Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin Incense Cedar USDA CADE27 |
Klamath Other, Fuel Twig used as a twirling stick to produce fire by friction. Coville, Frederick V., 1897, Notes On The Plants Used By The Klamath Indians Of Oregon., Contributions from the U.S. National Herbarium 5(2):87-110, page 88 |