Cross-Cultural Folk Classifications of Ethnobotanically Improtant Geophytes in Southern Oregon and Northern California
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UC Merced Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology Title Cross-Cultural Folk Classifications of Ethnobotanically Improtant Geophytes in Southern Oregon and Northern California Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4vj3b17n Journal Journal of California and Great Basin Anthropology, 19(2) ISSN 0191-3557 Author Todt, Donn L Publication Date 1997-07-01 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California 250 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY Adjacent Regions. American Anthropolo the Far West. These cross-cultural, geographi gist 40(3):384-415. cally variable, and idiosyncratic taxonomies have Sampson, C. Garth been used by Native Americans, Euroamerican 1985 Nightfire Island: Later Holocene Lake- marsh Adaptation on the Westem Edge of settlers, anthropologists, and historians to clas the Great Basin. Eugene: University of sify various species of Native American foods. Oregon Anthropological Papers No. 33. Portions of these taxonomies survive in field Skinner, Craig E. notes, ethnographies, and historical sources, as 1983 Obsidian Studies in Oregon: An Introduc well as within the folk vocabularies of Native tion to Obsidian and an Investigation of Selected Methods of Obsidian Characteri American and Euroamerican peoples. Those who zation Utilizing Obsidian Collected at Pre incorporated these categories into oral and writ historic Quarry Sites in Oregon. Master's ten descriptions during the early postcontact pe thesis. University of Oregon, Eugene. riod have left anthropologists to puzzle out their Spier, Leslie intended taxonomies as best they can. 1930 Klamath Ethnography. University of Cali fomia Ihiblications in American Archaeol An analysis of these folk categories provides ogy and Ethnology 30. a better perspective with which to evaluate eth- nobotanical aspects of the ethnohistoric record, enabling anthropologists to more accurately iden tify plants mentioned in ethnographic, historical, and folk literature. In turn, this has enabled an thropologists to better evaluate the role of geo phytes in the economies of native peoples of the Far West. Historically, the role of these plants Cross-Cultural Folk Classifications in indigenous economies has been largely un of Ethnobotanically Important appreciated; for example, a lack of understand Geophytes in Southern Oregon ing of the complexity and finesse involved in and Northern California identifying, harvesting, processing, and storing these resources contributed to a derogatory use DONN L. TODT of the term "digger." Investigation of geophyte Ashland Parks Department, 340 S. Pioneer, .'Ashland, species and their role in the presettlement econo OR 97520. mies of the Far West is important, for it has led to a re-evaluation of the significance of these A confusing variety of common names has been applied to "rootfoods" used by Native resources, as well as a concomitant re-evaluation American peoples in the Far West. This anal of the importance of women's contributions to ysis references many of these names to current subsistence in traditional Native American econ scientific nomenclature. Such analysis pro omies (Hunn 1981; Thorns 1989; Prouty 1995). vides a foundation for a better understanding of the role of these foods in the economies and Edible geophytes, most of which are found in cultures of indigenous peoples. This report the Apiaceae and Liliaceae families, are an enig concentrates on ethnographically recorded matic group of plants, both for botanists and an species in the Oregon-California border re thropologists.^ Botanists, using different criteria gion, although the framework is more broadly applicable. for assigning species designations, have shifted plants from one taxon to another. The vernacu lar nomenclature is even more confusing. Dis ELASTIC and inexact folk taxonomies exist for tantly related plants are often given the same geophytes ("roots")' used as food resources in common name, and individual species frequendy REPORTS 251 have a plethora of common names. One particu even distandy related geophytes. In die Pacific lar problem is that Europeans and Euroameri- Northwest, such genetically unrelated plants as cans immigrating to the Far West encountered a Lomatiums might be camas (Turner 1978:101). vast array of unfamiliar plants, for which they Thus, in its most broadly applied sense, camas had no appropriate referential names. Native may refer to many plants that are dug for food. American peoples, on the other hand, had—and In some cases, the term may be more restrictive, in some cases stUl have—a particularly fine referring to plants which look like camas. Gen grained nomenclatural system for the geophytes erally, diese plants are in the lily family. upon which they have depended for sustenance. In his notes on the Takelma Indian language For example, whde the Sahaptin speakers of the of southern Oregon, linguist J. P. Harrington Columbia Plateau differentiate 14 different kinds seems to have used camas in the inclusive sense of Lomatiums, in the same locale botanists dif of "plants within the lily family" when he indi ferentiate only 12 (Hunn and French 1981:87). cated four different "kinds" of camas, including In 1966, a Shasta Indian elder, Sargent Sambo, camas itself (Camassia quamash) (Gray 1987: speaking with regard to food plants, said "You 95). The other species noted as camas may in wouldn't understand if I told you because you clude scarlet fritillary (Fritillariarecurva), pussy don't know my people's language" (Olson 1960: ears (Calochortus tolmeii), and Henderson's Appendix). I believe that Sargent Sambo was fawn lily (Erythronium hendersonii). In his dis referring to a lack of equivalent nomenclature cussion of "roots" gathered by the Atsugewi, between Shasta and English. Garth (1953:138) also used camassia (the genus This report concentrates on folk taxonomies name for camas) in an inclusive manner with as applied primarily to edible geophytes in reference to a member of the lily family, Di- northern California and southern Oregon (see chelostemma multiflorum (formerly Brodiaea Fig. 1, Tables 1 and 2). These two areas have multiflorum). physiographic and biogeographic continuity such Two other categories of camas used in south that most ethnobotanically important species ern Oregon and northern California are "white have ranges on both sides of the arbitrary state camas" and "death camas," both of which usu border. Examples will be offered from this re ally refer to poisonous plants of the Zigadenus gion, although the framework is more broadly genus in the lily family. Members of this genus applicable. often grow in association with true camas (Cam assia quamash). Although the flowers, seeds, CAMAS and seedheads of Zigadenus differ appreciably The use of the word "camas" as a category from those of camas, the bulbs of the two genera predates the period of Euroamerican contact. are remarkably alike. Ray (1963:199) reported The word is perhaps of Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth) that the Modoc ate "white camas" (Zigadenus origin and is a Chinook jargon term with refer venenosus) after lengthy processing to remove ence bodi to "sweet" and to die plant category the toxins. However, most Native American "camas" (Gatschet 1890:152; Thomas 1935:58- peoples carefully avoid the plant, since poi 59). The word "camas," as used in die lexi sonings have been known to occur (Turner and cons of many indigenous Pacific Northwest peo Szczawinski 1991:106-107). There is a possibil ples, most commonly refers to the plant and edi ity that "white camas" refers to a member of ble bulb of Camassia quamash, sometimes called the Brodiaea complex, Triteleia hyacinthina, a blue camas. However, as a folk classification, liliaceous plant which also has white flowers. die term may be highly elastic, encompassing An additional possibility is that "white camas" 252 JOURNAL OF CALIFORNIA AND GREAT BASIN ANTHROPOLOGY CA a^__ wqua ^ S / ^—•—1_ c- CAD 1 I ^ COLUMBIA E PLATEAU 3 Umpqua > Valley 2 m ^.^f^ 1 »^ y^ L."^ \ 1*^ Rogue LI Klamath 7^ \yalley >. Basin GREAT r> 2 OREGON BASIN tJ V :-! .^^ . CALIFORNIA j NEVADA i ( Shasta •n ^ .^•^Y H Valley O \ > Scott ^-v -c: 1 Valley 1 1 ^ V CD m • MX SHASTA § / \ > / o Z f 1 -0 1 Pit River 1 •^ < T V ^ -N- %_ 'er / *-, \ 1 % CD D 1 50 mi. 1 c 1 Fig. 1. Map of northem Califomia and southem Oregon, showing areas discussed in text. is a reference to Lomatium canbyi, a species qua Valley of southern Oregon. Camas has also found on the Modoc Plateau, but which is been known as "wild hyacinth" because of its known as "white camas" on the Columbia Pla resemblance to the Mediterranean species. An teau, where Ray did a considerable amount of other name from the historical exploration litera- ethnographic work (Ray 1932; Turner et al. ttire referring to camas is scUla (Sperlin 1930: 1980:64). On the odier hand, since Ray's (1963) 222; Eastwood 1945:340). account is so detailed, it is difficult to entirely dismiss it.' EPOS AND YAMPA It should also be noted that a whitish true Ipos is an anglicization of a Shasta Indian camas (Camassia quamash) grows in the Ump word (Gatschet 1890:151) rendered ip'-haws by REPORTS 253 Table 1 BOTANICAL EQUIVALENTS FOR FOLK TERMS APPLIED TO ETHNOBOTANICALLY IMPORTANT GEOPHYTES IN SOUTHERN OREGON AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA Botanical Nomenclature Folk Term" Allium spp. *wild onion, wild garlic A. madidum swamp onion A. validum swamp onion Brodiaea spp. •Indian potatoes, *grass nuts, cacomite, wild hyacinth Calochortus spp. Indian potatoes, *Sego lily, *Mariposa lily, wild tulip Camassia quamash *camas, blue camas, sweet camas, white camas (in the Umpqua Valley), scilla, wild hyacinth, Indian potatoes Chlorogalum pomeridianum *soaproot, soap plant, amole Claytonia lanceotata *spring beauty, Indian potatoes Dichelostemma spp. *Indian potatoes, *grass-nuts, cacomite, wild hyacinth, snake-heads Fritillaria recurva red bells, scarlet fritillary Lewisia rediviva bitterroot Lilium pardalinum tiger lily Lomatium californicum *'ik'-nish, wild parsnip, wild celery, incense root, hog fennel, angelica L. canbyi *biscuit-root, white camas, turnip, wild turnip, couse(?) L.