nJ
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(rGgofl Series II, no.2.
Wative Oregon Plants
joIlecton
OREGON ODDITIES
AND
ITEMS
OF INTEREST
OREGON
and publications
For use by teachers, studeiitS, libraries,
Please pive credit to
the iyforr.atiOfl
srvice
The Federal Writers' and historical
Records Survey Projects
,f
LTP L'IOi
WORKS PROGRESS AI)YI
Buiiiin
4O EUc
Poftiarlu.,
Orgoii
OF OREGON
The items in this 'ulletin, selected from the material
compiled by the Wrfters' Projec and the Fistorical Records Survey
of the Works Prcress A&'ninistration, are representative of the
significant collections bein made by these ijation-wide programs.
The Historical Records SurVeT is inveutorying all sources
of erly Oregon iiisor,r, incuding ooty and state records, tovn
and church archives, historic certeeriee., old manuscripts and imprints, old printing presses monuments and relics, private diaries,
letters, and memoirs, historic buiLlings, and Indian records and
lore.
The chief undertaking of the Works Progress Adxainistratin Writers' Project as beon t1e American Guide Series of Books.
In Oregon as in all other states thu work includes the state Guide,
d.esiu3d to acquaint Aincricans with America and to present to the
visitor the history, industry, recreational advantages and scenic
attractions of the state. Th Oregon Guide, now in the final stages
of editing will soon be added to the list of those already published
which includes Idaho: A Guide in Word and picture; Maine: A Guide
"Dmvn East"; Massachusetts: A Guide to its Places and People; New
City and
Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State; WashinFtofl:
Birthplace
of
a
Nation;
A Guide to th
Capital; Philadelphia
Delaware: A Guide to the First State; Mississippi: A Guide to
allest State;
the agnolia State; Rhode Island: A uide to the
kota:
A
Guide to the
South takota: A South Dakota Guide; North
Northern Pr.irie State; Vermont: A Guide to the Green Mountain
State.
In addition to all the state guides, interesting püblications now av.ilabie include American Stuff; Cape Cod Pilot; Hoosier
Tall Etories; The Hopi; Italians of New York; New Orl'ans City Guide;
Whaling Masters; Who's Who in the Zoo; and Wisconsin Indian Lore.
Publications iiow in preparation by the Oregon liriters'
Project include the Oregon Guide, an Oregon Almanac for 1939, Old
Towns of Oregon, ad Fire Prevention in Portland
NATIVE OREGON PLJS
Much concerning the flora of Oregon
inevitably intermingled with Indian
ore. Nearly 200 plants found a place
the conrntercial, industrial: medical,
.linary and religious life of Northwest
ibese With the passing of winter,
most
ans
ortant and widely known. The Indiously guarded their cainas beds1
theme
ie Nez Perco war, under the leaderChicf Joseph, was waged by tho In-.
Tribi rent to war to settle disputes over
ship
dians in a lasts despèrato effort to prom
tact oir camas beds0
ation for the annual food-gathering,
in is journal John Ball, Oregon's first
;Tribes migrated to Cainas Prairie,
schoc:. teacher (i832-3), says that ccrias
pato Lake or Woous Swamp for the year- "is as palatable and nutritious as potatoes
The i;neers were also acquainted with the
.:barvests.
food lue of this plant, Comns bulbs sinA dozen varieties of borrios, wild
reared a long time have a consistency not unrab-applo, plul and Oregon grape rienod in soason, Bird-chorry, salal and like at of stewed pumpkin. It is said
that amas pies were an equivalent of pumpid currant grow in profusion in forkin ;ias in the old days. The settlers also
st and along the seashore. Nuts of
deper.dd on canas beds for sunmer hog pasbus kinds wore stored for the lean
tur e z
nths, and seeds of numorous grassos
Tharo are two varieties of edible carnas.
d rushes added tho important farina-.
Both socics are similar, growing in moist
éous olorient to the Indian diet, The
places and bearing oither white or blue
ite explorers and settlers, who came
ter adopted:many of these plants for blossozs, The Leichtlin variety is larger
and stouter. Improved varieties of the
air own use9
carnas ore cultivated by florists both in
WAPATO
this country end in Europe.
Wapato was One of the principal food
A third variety of cainas is the "death
lanté of the lower Columbia River Inbans, Bearing white blossoms in July
cainas,' The Indians knew it and dreaded
August, it grows in the water along it, as the three varieties are of similar
appearance and grow under identical cOnearns and ponds, The edible tubers
diticts. In spite of their knowledge, howthe plant are rooted in the mud at
ever, àases of poisoning from it were
o bottom of the stream, Indian women
cornirion, Camas iá one of the worst stockested wapato in April. They waded
poisoning plants Although horses and catto the water, often shoulder deep,
tle usually survive the effects of the poiWig to the sides of boats and grubbed
a tubers lOose with their toes, Freed son, sheep have been known to die by the
from the mud, the smooth tubers floathundreds from eating it, Hogs are considered to be entirely immune to the effects
to the surface of the water, whore
of the plant9
ey.wero gathorod.
idian camps became active with propa-
:Wapato bulbs vkien boiled, resemble
Indian medicine men often pounded and.
:8t0es, with a slightly sweeter taste. mashed the bulbs of the death carnas and
Some have
likened them to chestnuts.
During th winter Lewis and Clark spent
iii Oregon
they existed on a diet which
?OliSistea mainly of elk meat and wapato.
Tb0 Indians made a stout cord from
e dried stalks of the nettle.
The
*tO82ued roots of the plant were used as
applied the pulp as a poultice to relieve
pain.
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The harvest lily blooms late in June or
July It is a lover of dry ground, and
grows and bears its hlossor.s under condi-
tions in which it seems impossible for a
plant to su±vivo. This plant has a deeply
buried root, the secret of its hardiness,
Nettle greens are an old-fashOfled dish in this country and in Europe. The Indiais found these bulbs which are
tender and mealy when cooked, an excellent
substitute for breadç
The pounded root of the Solomon's
!004.
is still used by
some Indian
as a remedy for rheumatism.
CAM&S
The
camas might be called the Was-
r Indians' staff of life because, of
1 food
plants used by them, it is the
ROUSE
Kouso was another important food plant
of tho Northwest Indian tribes, It was
knowr to the early explorers as "biscuit
root," and to tho ronon-'Canadian voyagours
as "racine blanches" To prepare kouso
-2Early in February the big, yellow spaths
the swamps
ste in a mortar, then moulded the paste appear, and from then until May
and swabs are brightened by th yellow
to cakes which were dried in the sun,
blooms. After the blossoms, tropical apCAT'S-EAR
pearing loaves devobop, often of groat
Known in Oregon as the "cats-ear"
Skunk cabbage roots wore used by
size.
in California as the mariposa, the
tho
Indians
for food, which saved many an
o lily, state flower of Utah, has ediIndian tribe from famine, When prepared
le bulbs which were the Indians' cholfor food, tho rootc. were cooked in pits,
st delicacies, Sego, or seego, is an
in a manner similar to that used for Waié.n word which is a general term for
pato
as doscribed in John Ball's journal.
rtain typos of food. Sego bulbs were
Salmon
and othor largo fish, when being
isa eaten by tho white éettlors, espocprepared
for steaming, ware wrapped in
1ly in Utah, when they wore faced with
the
leaves
of this plant.
ought and starvation.
According to tho Cathiamot Indian legond, there were no salmon in anccnt times.
Yerba Buena is a delicate, evergreen
The Indiois' only food consistod of loaves
obolonging to tho mint funily. It
and roots, principallr skunk cabbage. Acnamed btho Spaniards for its medithe salinal value, and it has been called Ore- cording to the legend, one ápring
time.
As
they
swam
mon came for the first
on tea because the early Oregon ploonthe
shore
called:
up the river, a figure
eers found its dried leavesto be an
"Here comes our relatives, whose bodies
oellent substitute for tea.
are full of eggs L If it had not been for
no, the people would have starved 1"
One of the most widely distributed
"Who speaks for us?tt asked the fish.
egon wild flowers, the dog-tooth vie"Your unOle, Skunk Cabbage," the figót1 blooms profusely from April until
ure replied.
te In 1.y in the woods of valleys and
Then the salmon came to shore to see
oothills, Indians eat the bulbs of
him and, as a reward for having fod the
a plant, which has many local names,
people, the Skunk Cabbage was given an
tongue,
oh as lomb's, deer's or
elk-skLn blanket and a war club, and the
pring lily, etc.
plant was placed in the rich soil along
WILD BLA.CKBERRY
The wild blackberry has been very pop-S the river bank. There he still stands
and holdar with both Indians and whites, up to, wrapped in his elk-skin blanket
ing aloft his war club.
including, the present time. It is
5--S "green bryor" of whioh Lewis and
Like the wild blackberry, the hucklelark wrote: "It rises perpendicularly
berry is as popular toda as it was with
a height of from four or five feet,
the IndiatLs and pioneers. There are three
en it descends in an arch, becoming
varieties, evergreen, red and black, Of
rocubent, or rests on some neighboring
the three, the latter is easily the favorlant or shrub...the fruit is a berry,
ite, although the berries of the otheis
resembling the blackberry in every rearo edible, but are lacking in flavor.
Pect amd is eaten whthiripe and is much
WILD STRAWBERRY
esteemed by the natives..." The Indians
Two
vaiietios
of wild strawberries grow
e an infusion of the root bark for
thickshort-stenhIfled
The
in Oregon.
O)tecklng diarrhea and dysentery, and the
its fruit
leaved
variety
grow
and
'bears
diclnal value of the blackborry root
close to the ground. The other type boars
'8 also appreciated by the pioneers.
fruit on long, slender stems, often taller than the foliage. This species has
Th5 berries and tender shoots of both
the thimble and salmon berries were eatthin, deeply-veined leaves. Wild strawberries wore a welcome part of the Indian
Salmon berry shoots
by the Indians.
Oroonts
"ere Usually eaten with fish spawn, or
dIet. Thosewho rnbor western
at
that
time
wild
pioneer days, say that
cii, The astrinent bark of the salmon
finer
flastrawberries were large, had a
7 was valued,
cultivated
berry
of
today,
vor than any
SKTTNK CABBAGE
and grew plentifully everywhere. It has
Sktink cabbage is a familiar plant to
been said that grazing sheep have dopractically everybody in western Oregon,
or food, Indians pounded them to a
.
-3-
elder is a natural mcdi
blue-berried bark is a very powor
strawberries
inner
cine chest Its
ed m6st of the wild
is used in brakElderberry
tea
ful emetic,
cooked in oil
egon.
The blossoms
colds0
up
and tho fruit boIl
for cough syrup, ing
oinLnient,
cooling
following
recipe
a
o
aperient and diuretic0
still in use make
down acts as a nild value, the fruit of
by early pioneers, is
wino
its medicinal
of hore- Besides
good for making pies,
equal
amounts
blue-older
is
from
th
the
oil together
made flutes
small
with
a
Phe
Indians
and jelly.
d azid mullen leaves, add enough suand
t of liverwort
syrup. young shoots,
Oreto the liquid to make a thin
grape, state flowerofgrapeThe
Oregon
dark berries,
used as a
gon, has clusters ofwhich make a fine jelly
other pioneer remedy,
was
liko in appearance,
ng tonic or blood purifier,
valued for medicinal
roots
are
follows:
burdock
roots
as
cut
Oreon
grape
ó of
tons of thanare
the roots,
every
year
and
slice
thestato
use,
and
ash, scrape
and let stand six and marketed, Strictly speaking,
or with cold water the liquid and
but a barberry.
flower is not a grape,
; them strain off
were
Bruised burdock leaves
nic,
the Indians was the
plant
among
burns,
poultice
for
A
valued
ccl as a
made from tho young,
Arrows
were
a- -syringa. shoots, and bows from the larger
of firethree
varieties
straight
There aro
and
The maóeratcd loaves
pinnacled
stains.
giant,
end stronger
od in Oregon;
substitute.
of the first two
low, The blossonis pink, and th lat- made a good soap
tioned species are
been a favorite
yellow.
Minors lettuce hasamong Pacific Coast iner, as the name indicates, the planté
or salad plant
reweed is so named because
early times. Itsmany
areas, green
very
in
burned-over
since
lettuce;
ring up quickly
becauseit habitants
Indian lettuce, Spanish
use
namos:
eckeepers prize this plant
In
its
popular
with honey.
derived
from
valued
it, as
etc., are
eeps theit hives filled of the fireL9
especially
of
but had no
The miners
0 spring, tondor shoots
vegetables, gold,
fresh
greens.
used
as
to cu].they
needed
ed are often a__a
rush for
their
wild
gather
in
Seeing the Indians
beneficial time,
found
gardens.
oak
was
adapted
tivate
Even poison
miners quickly
were made of
wild lettuoe, thouse.
tho Indjan. Sáakots
juice
was
it to their own a--tts slender stems.. The fresh
dosigns on
the Indians ,
ornamental
Lsd in moidng
used to burn
was prized by
Cascara
bark
Tho
juioe
was
tenails,
approciated its values
ring-worni.
as
well
also
to
cure
and
pioneers
CUt Warts and
The
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Kinikinniok is a small,
trailing
and leatherIbrub, with reddish bark The
fruit is
Ce evergreen1eaves, very dry and
r1ght red and, although the Indians'
it was part of
from
its name
"Let, The shrub received
Clerks
Ifl East Indian smoking mixture.
smoked
the
ot th0 udso'g Bay Company
3tele8s,
as a laxative,
of the
Tho young, firm "fiddle-hads"
to eat, having a
Thr
bracken fern arc good
that of asparagus. by
resembling
flavor
hero as food, except a
priod such
are seldom used
Asiatics and Europns who
dish in their native homelands.
called
wild rose iero
the
Berries
of
possibly
as
"'e4 leaves.
by the Indians,
t'fnmine
food"
during
Dogwood is
that they ate them
Th0 bark of the Pacific
an indication
used
Very bitter and was successfullyOregon. periods of food shortage.
8 qujnjfl0 by- early settlers of
a---