Plants for All Purposes

Plants provided food and medicine for the native peoples of this area. Plant materials also provided the basis for many, if not most, articles of daily use.

Soap was obtained from plants rich in saponin, such as amole, yucca, and the wild gourd. During Spanish times, when a lively trade in herbs and simple plants flourished between coastal settlements and Indians of the interior, the saponaceous wild gourd was found in virtually every California household. It is said to have made an effective, if somewhat harsh, all-purpose cleaner.

A hair rinse and conditioner was concocted from California goldenrod and from stems of the wild poppy.

Leaves of the fan palm were used for flailing, and the stems were used for spoons. The fronds were woven together to make thatching that was both waterproof and windproof. Sandals were woven from the leaves for long journeys over rough terrain.

Fibers for weaving were obtained from a variety of plants. One of the most important sources was the Mohave yucca. The sturdy yucca fibers were used for making ropes, mats, sandals, bowstrings, and paintbrushes. During the Mexican period, handwoven saddle blankets of yucca fiber, made by the Kumeyaay and other Southern California groups, were important trade items.

A soft, silken, yet very strong fiber was obtained from Apocynum cannabinum, the so-called Indian hemp plant. Ropes made from this fiber lasted for years and years. Indian hemp fibers were also used to make a fine thread for sewing or weaving.

Yet another important source of fibers was the agave, or century plant. When the thorn at the tip of each leaf is carefully detached from the plant, a length of fiber will come with it providing a natural combination of needle and thread.

The diversity of uses to which the native plants in this region were put seems astonishing to us moderns, dependent as we are on the supermarket and hardware store for our daily needs and wants. Sap of the milkweed plant was treated to make a form of chewing gum. Seeds of the wild cucumber were used to fix the paints in petroglyph drawings. Animal toys for children were made from fruit capsules of the yucca.

Perhaps most impressive, however, is the highly developed art of basketry. A skilled basketmaker was highly regarded in her community. She might experiment with subtle dye shades or unique patterns and forms of representation.

These patterns were her own, considered a part of her very essence and existence. At her death, the baskets which she owned would be destroyed, and her pattern inventions would nevermore be made among her people.

The baskets were kept clean by frequent washings with a saponaceous plant. When the bottom of a basket wore out, it was still useful as an extra rim that one could attach to a stone mortar.

Robin Hewitt, 1989