Campus Sign Area: Bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax) Habit: Perennial herb Size: Large herb, 1.5 m tall Leaves: Basal leaves grass-like, tough, wiry, evergreen, large clumps Flowers: White, tiny, fragrant, showy, pyramidal cluster Fruit: Oval 3-lobed capsules to 6 mm long Underground Parts: Rhizomatous Habitat: Open areas and open to fairly dense forests from near sea level to the subalpine (2:112). Uses: Basketry (1:23). Procurement: sayuyay
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) Habit: Perennial Size: 10-15 cm tall Leaves: Opposite, relatively few Flowers: Purplish to pink (occasionally white), 1-2 cm long, spike-like cluster atop Fruit: 4 nutlets Underground Parts: Fibrous root Habitat: Moist roadsides, clearings, fields, lawns, forest edges; low to middle elevations (2:246). Uses: Fresh plant juice is used on boils and bites (1:45). Procurement:
Red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) Habit: Perennial Size: Up to 1 m tall Leaves: 3 deeply lobed leaflets Flowers: red and yellow with reddish spurs, a central tuft of stamens and styles protruding Fruit: 5 erect follicles, numerous black wrinkled seeds Underground Parts: Taproot Habitat: Moist, open to partially shady sites (2:180). Uses: The root is scraped to makes a milky pulp that is applied to sores to form a scar (nature's band-aid) (1:30). Procurement:
Common sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata) Habit: Erect perennial Size: 30-60 cm tall Leaves: Short and broad (8 mm wide) Spikelet: Inflorescence, panicle open; lemmas awnless or awned Underground Parts: Rhizomatous Habitat: Moist-meadows, lake-shores, stream-banks, forest openings, beaches, and tidal marshes Uses: Basketry, cleansing and purifying ceremonial incense, flavoring agent (2:369). Procurement: sayuyay
Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) Habit: Erect perennial Size: 1-3 m tall Leaves: Alternate, deciduous Flowers: Rose colored, 7-10 mm long, in erect drooping clusters of 10-20 flowers Fruit: Blue-black round berries with glandular hairs and a white waxy bloom Underground Parts: Fibrous root Habitat: Dry open woods, disturbed sites, low to middle elevations (2:84). Uses: Berries for food (1:32). Procurement: Thurston County Conservation District Plant Sale
Sweet cicely (Osmorhiza chilensis) Habit: Perennial Size: 30-100 cm tall Leaves: Twice divided into 3’s, 9 leaflets coarsely toothed Flowers: Greenish-white, inconspicuous Fruit: Black, needle-like, 12-22 cm long Underground Parts: Taproot Habitat: Open forests, forest edges, thickets, glades; low to mid elevations (2:217). Uses: Chewing the root as a very powerful love charm (1:41). Procurement:
Building Entrance Area: Redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) Habit: Perennial Size: 5-15 cm tall Leaves: Numerous, compound, clover-like Flowers: White to pale-pinkish, 12-20 mm long Fruit: Capsules, football-shaped, 5 chambered, 7-9 mm long Underground Parts: Rhizomatous Habitat: Moist, forested sites at low to middle elevations (2:315). Uses: Leaves for food, fresh juice from the plant can be applied to sore eyes, and wilted leaves can be put on boils to draw them (1:39). Procurement:
Golden-eyed-grass (Sisyrinchium californicum) Habit: Size: 40 cm tall Leaves: Mostly basal, long (up to 30 cm) and narrow (5 mm), clumped Flowers: Yellow with purplish-brown veins, short stalked, 6 tepals Fruit: Egg shaped capsules to 12 mm long, with black, pitted seeds Underground Parts: Habitat: Moist to wet areas (2:115). Uses: None found Procurement:
Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) Habit: Perennial Size: 10-15 cm tall Leaves: Opposite, relatively few Flowers: Purplish to pink (occasionally white), 1-2 cm long, spike-like cluster atop Fruit: 4 nutlets Underground Parts: Fibrous root Habitat: Moist roadsides, clearings, fields, lawns, forest edges; low to middle elevations (2:246). Uses: Fresh plant juice is used on boils and bites (1:45). Procurement:
Red columbine (Aquilegia formosa) Habit: Perennial Size: Up to 1 m tall Leaves: 3 deeply lobed leaflets Flowers: red and yellow with reddish spurs, a central tuft of stamens and styles protruding Fruit: 5 erect follicles, numerous black wrinkled seeds Underground Parts: Taproot Habitat: Moist, open to partially shady sites (2:180). Uses: The root is scraped to makes a milky pulp that is applied to sores to form a scar (nature's band-aid) (1:30). Procurement:
Common sweet grass (Hierochloe odorata) Habit: Erect perennial Size: 30-60 cm tall Leaves: Short and broad (8 mm wide) Spikelet: Inflorescence, panicle open; lemmas awnless or awned Underground Parts: Rhizomatous Habitat: Moist-meadows, lake-shores, stream-banks, forest openings, beaches, and tidal marshes Uses: Basketry, cleansing and purifying ceremonial incense, flavoring agent (2:369). Procurement: sayuyay
Maidenhair fern (Adiantum pedatum) Habit: Delicate fern Size: 15-60 cm tall Leaves: Palmately branched; at right angles to the leaf stalk, oblong or fan-shaped Sori: Oblong, on the edges Underground Parts: Rhizomatous Habitat: Shady, humus-rich sites, moist soil, low to middle elevations (2:425). Uses: Basketry, leaves are used for making hair tonic, chewed leaves are used for sore chest and stomach problems (1:14). Procurement: Thurston County Conservation District Plant Sale
Red-flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) Habit: Erect perennial Size: 1-3 m tall Leaves: Alternate, deciduous Flowers: Rose colored, 7-10 mm long, in erect drooping clusters of 10-20 flowers Fruit: Blue-black round berries with glandular hairs and a white waxy bloom Underground Parts: Fibrous root Habitat: Dry open woods, disturbed sites, low to middle elevations (2:84). Uses: Berries for food (1:32). Procurement: Thurston County Conservation District Plant Sale
Citation: 1. Gunther, Erna. Ethnobotany of Western Washington: The Knowledge and Use of Indigenous Plants by Native Americans. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1973.
2. Mackinnon, Andy, and Jim Pojar. Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Vancouver, British Columbia: Ministry of Forest and Lone Pine Publishing, 1994.
Possible Procurement Sources:
Native Plant Salvage Project WSU Cooperative Extension 1835 Black Lake Blvd. SW, Suite F 360.704.7785
