November 2022 Plant Availability |
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Greetings,
November is Native American Heritage month and we are pausing to create space to honor the indigenous folks of California– especially those of the Ohlone territory, whose unceded/stolen land our nursery now inhabits. So, in our newsletter this month we are taking the opportunity to highlight the indigenous ethnobotanical uses of some of our most cherished California native plants! But first, we want to highlight some fantastic Bay-Area local indigenous-led businesses and organizations…
Local Indigenous-owned restaurants:
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Cafe Ohlone: A love song to Ohlone culture -at UC Berkeley
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Wahpepah’s Kitchen -Crystal Wahpepah founded this award winning restaurant in the Fruitvale district
Local Indigenous-led organizations:
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The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust is an indigenous, women-led org that works for cultural revitalization, education, and land rematriation. They ask that non-Indigenous people living on the Confederated Villages of Lisjan’s territory donate Shuumi Land Tax, a voluntary annual contribution that supports their critical work. Later this month we will make a donation to the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, so keep an eye out for our announcement email regarding which days your plant purchases will contribute to that donation (if you aren’t yet signed up for our Sales and Events email list, you can do so at the bottom of our website homepage)!
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Kanyon Konsulting is a cultural strategist/liaison, whose work “focuses on offering Indigenous perspectives on the importance of indigenous protocol, acknowledging the land we now occupy, land stewardship and ecology.”
***Note: for this newsletter, we are heavily relying on the information from sources that were created several years ago and refer to the Native American peoples mentioned in the past tense; we will be using present tense language to avoid contributing to the erasure of present day Indigenous folks of California.
We hope this newsletter leaves you with reverence and appreciation for California native plants and the people who have been in community with them long before colonization. Without further ado…
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[Available in D40 pots for $9.90]
Members of the Quercus genus are among the most important food producing plants in California, with over ¾ of native Californians relying on acorns as primary daily food prior to colonization. Due to the high levels of bitter tannins present in acorns, they cannot be eaten raw, but rather must be processed before consumption. Different California indigenous groups vary in how they process acorns, but they all have the same basic process: the kernels are removed from the hulls, roasted or left raw in preparation for pounding, and then ground into a powder with stone mortars and pestles to produce acorn meal, which is then sifted and leached with fresh water to remove the tannins. Once prepared, acorn meal can be used to make a variety of foods, such as acorn soup, acorn mush, acorn bread, and a beverage much like coffee. Acorns are an important crop because they are plentiful and nutritious, with high amounts of vitamins A/C and fat, containing essential amino acids.
Acorns are used medicinally too, with high tannins in the bark/acorns/galls that can be helpful in treating bladder infections, washing open wounds, reducing inflammation, and regulating the bowels. The Payómkawichum (among other tribes) have used the mold that grew on acorn mush as an (apparently) effective antibiotic, since long before the discovery of penicillin in Western medicine.
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[Available in D40 pots for $9.90]
White Sage has been popularized (and unfortunately poached) for its use in dried bundles that one can burn for protection and cleansing. It is considered one of the most useful and sacred sages in California. Dried leaves of the sage are bundled and burned, as the combination of prayer and sweet smoke is thought to protect, cleanse, and heal. It is said that smoking white sage can induce sacred dreams, calm, and attract good spirits. The Chumash people consider White Sage to be their “everyday plant,” and suck on a leaf or drink it with water each day in order to strengthen the soul and remain calm, peaceful, and healthy.
White sage has many medicinal uses as well! For sore throats, white sage leaves may be sucked on or added to water. The leaves can also be used to relieve stomach aches, tooth aches, colds, flu, asthma, to soothe and cleanse wounds and rashes, and to promote menstruation. The Payómkawichum and Ivilyuqaletem use White sage as a shampoo and deodorant by rubbing fresh leaves between the palms with water.
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[Available in D16 pots for $7.70, D40 pots for $9.90, and 2gal pots for $27.50]
The Payómkawichum tribes (means “People of the West” in their language– this is the name that these folks refer to themselves as, although they are federally recognized as the “Luiseños” which they were named by Spanish missionaries due to their proximity to the San Luis Rey mission) and the Ivilyuqaletem tribes (of the Cahuilla nation) in Southern California use California Sagebrush for treatment as well as ceremony.
In girl’s puberty rights, the smoke from the leaves used to purify and perfume the skin and clothes of young girls in the ceremony. A tea of stems and leaves is also used by women at the beginning of each menstrual period as well as after giving birth. A decoction of the leaves and stems is used externally for the relief of colds, cough, and asthma. A decoction may be taken internally for bronchitis. A decoction of the plant may also be used as a bath for rheumatism. Some tribes use the leaves to relieve toothaches. A poultice of the leaves is also used for wounds. The Ivilyuqaletem (Cahuilla) people chew and smoke the leaves mixed with wild tobacco. Some tribes also wear necklaces of the stems to ward off bad spirits.
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[Available in D16 pots for $6.60]
California Mugwort is prized for its calming, sage-like scent and has been used medicinally and ceremonially for thousands of years around the world. The Paiute tribes use it ceremoniously as a wash coming out of ritual dances. Several California indigenous tribes (the Chumash and Paiute among others) burn and/or inhale mugwort smoke prior to sleep to promote healthy sleep, induce sacred dreams, and ward off ghosts or evil spirits.
There are several medicinal uses of Mugwort. The leaves may be smoked to treat flu, colds, and fevers. The Chumash chew on the leaves to relieve toothaches and gum pain. Mugwort is also used to make a tea for relieving asthma, rheumatism, gastric ailments, and urinary problems, as well as the treatment of menstrual pain, premenstrual syndrome, and menopause. The leaves can be used fresh, dried, or burned to repel insects, and fresh leaves are used to treat and prevent poison oak inflammations.
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[Available in D16 for $4.50 (25% off!)]
A variety of California indigenous folks, especially those in Mendocino, use Hemp Dogbane for a variety of medicinal purposes and as building materials. The leaves can be ground up for use as a wound dressing. The roots can be made into a tea that treats earaches and digestive issues/disorders, or dried and crushed to stimulate hair growth and treat head lice. The sap can be used to treat warts. The silky fibers from inside the stems are harvested in the fall to make strong string and cordage for nets and regalia. After harvesting, the above-ground growth is burned to stimulate new straight growth. An important consideration for this plant is that the sap is poisonous to many animals, as it contains compounds that affect heart function. The genus “Apocynum” literally means “poison to dogs.”
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[Available in D16 pots for $7.70]
Many indigenous groups across California use berries from several members of the Ribes genus to make jellies, preserves, beverages, and dried fruit snacks. Dried Ribes berries are pounded together with ground meat and fat to create Pemmican, which is a staple of native California diets. The Golden Currant in particular is especially prized as a tasty treat.
Medicinally, the Paiute and Shoshone use the powdered inner bark of Ribes aureum as a poultice for sores and swelling, and chew on a piece of the root to ease sore throats.
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From all of us at the Watershed Nursery, happy Native American Heritage Month and thank you for taking the time to learn about the ethnobotany of these California native plants with us!
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Stay Safe, ‘Bee’ Well, and Go Natives!
Happy Planting! From all of us at The Watershed Nursery.
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Sign up to receive announcements of our Plant Sales and Events (if you have not already done so).
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On our Facebook Page we post a plant of the month with photos and gardening information.
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Check out photos and videos on our Instagram.
- Landscape and gardening professionals receive a 10% discount on all plants (except for sale plants) purchased for professional use.
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Resellers: All the plants are available for wholesale purchase. Provide us your resellers license to receive a 20% discount on the listed price (except for sale plants) and no sales tax.
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The Watershed Nursery | 510.234.2222 | sales@thewatershednursery.com |
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