Natural Resources Used in the Central Valley/Sierra Nevada Region
Plants
COMMON NAME | TYPE | SCIENTIFIC NAME | USED FOR | PAGE* |
Bear Grass or White Grass | Herbaceous Plants | Xerophyllum tenax | Baskets | 308 |
Brodiaeas | Herbaceous Plants | Brodiaea; Dichelostemma; Triteleia | Food | 308 |
Canarygrasses | Herbaceous Plants | Phalaris | Food | 308 |
Cattails | Herbaceous Plants | Typha | 308 | |
Clarkias or Farewell-to-Spring | Herbaceous Plants | Clarkia | Food | 308 |
Clovers | Herbaceous Plants | Trifolium | Food; regalia | 309 |
Dandelions | Herbaceous Plants | Taraxacum | Medicine | 309 |
Dogbane or Indian hemp | Herbaceous Plants | Apocynum cannabinum | Cordage | 309 |
Goosefoots | Herbaceous Plants | Chenopodium | Food | 310 |
Ithuriel’s spear or Grass-nut | Herbaceous Plants | Triteleia laxa | Food | 310 |
Mariposa lilies | Herbaceous Plants | Calochortus | Food | 310 |
Milkweeds | Herbaceous Plants | Asclepias | Cordage; medicine; food | 310 |
Miner’s lettuce | Herbaceous Plants | Claytonia perfoliata | Food | 311 |
Monkeyflower | Herbaceous Plants | Mimulis guttatus | Food; medicine | 311 |
Native barley | Herbaceous Plants | Hordeum intercedens | Food | 311 |
Nightshades | Herbaceous Plants | Solanum | Food; medicine | 311 |
Red maids | Herbaceous Plants | Calandrinia cillata | Food | 311 |
Sedges | Herbaceous Plants | Carex | Baskets | 312 |
Soap plant | Herbaceous Plants | Chlorogalum pomeridianum | Medicine; food; poison; soap | 312 |
Tarweeds | Herbaceous Plants | Madia, Hemizonia and Blepharizonia | Food; building material | 312 |
Toloache or jimson weed | Herbaceous Plants | Datura wrightii | Medicine; intoxicant | 312 |
Tules or bulrushes | Herbaceous Plants | Schoenoplectus | Building material; baskets; clothing; regalia; boats; food; fuel | 313 |
Turkey mullein | Herbaceous Plants | Eremocarpus setigerus | Poison | 313 |
Wild oats | Herbaceous Plants | Avena | Food | 313 |
Wild onions | Herbaceous Plants | Allium | Food | 314 |
Wild strawberries | Herbaceous Plants | Fragaria | Food | 314 |
Wild sunflowers | Herbaceous Plants | Helianthus | Food | 314 |
Wild tobaccos | Herbaceous Plants | Nicotiana | Intoxicant; medicine | 313 |
California Maiden-Hair Fern | Mosses and Ferns | Adlantum jordanii | Baskets | 307 |
Big-leaf maple | Trees and shrubs | Acer macrophyllus | Building material; clothing; food preservation | 315 |
Black oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus kelloggii | Food; building material; fuel; tools; weapons | 319 |
Blue oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus douglasii | Food; building material; fuel; tools; weapons | 319 |
California bay or laurel | Trees and shrubs | Umbellularia californica | Medicine; weapons | 315 |
California blackberry | Trees and shrubs | Rubus ursinus | Food | 316 |
California buckeye | Trees and shrubs | Aesculus californica | Food; tools | 316 |
California hazel | Trees and shrubs | Corylus cornuta | Food; basketry; weapons | 316 |
California wild grape | Trees and shrubs | Vitis californica | Food; cordage; cooking | 316 |
Canyon live oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus chrysolepis | Food; building material; fuel; tools; weapons | 320 |
Currants and gooseberries | Trees and shrubs | Ribes | Food | 322 |
Elderberries | Trees and shrubs | Sambucus | Food; musical instruments; tobacco pipes | 317 |
Foothill pine or gray pine | Trees and shrubs | Pinus sabiniana | Food; fuel; building material; baskets; medicine | 320 |
Incense-cedar | Trees and shrubs | Calocedrus decurrens | Building material; boats; pigment; flavoring | 317 |
Interior live oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus wislizeni | Food; building material; fuel; tools; weapons | 320 |
Manzanitas | Trees and shrubs | Arctostaphylos | Medicinel food; fuel; tools | 317, 318 |
Mountain dogwood | Trees and shrubs | Cornus nuttallii | Medicine | 318 |
Oregon oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus garryana | Food; building material; fuel; tools; weapons | 320 |
Ponderosa pine | Trees and shrubs | Pinus ponderosa | Food; building material; fuel; baskets | 321 |
Skunkbush | Trees and shrubs | Rhus trilobata | Medicine | 322 |
Sugar pine | Trees and shrubs | Pinus lambertiana | Food; building material; food | 321 |
Toyon | Trees and shrubs | Heteromeles arbutifolia | Food | 322 |
Valley oak or white oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus lobata | Food; building material; fuel; tools; weapons | 320 |
Western redbud | Trees and shrubs | Cercis occidentalis | Baskets | 322 |
White fir | Trees and shrubs | Abies concolor | Poison | 322 |
Willows | Trees and shrubs | Salix | Baskets; cordage; building material; fuel; clothing; weapons | 322 |
Wormwoods or mugworts | Trees and shrubs | Artemisia | Medicine | 314 |
Yerba santa or mountain balm | Trees and shrubs | Eriodictyon californicum | Medicine | 323 |
Animals
COMMON NAME | TYPE | SCIENTIFIC NAME | USED FOR | PAGE* |
Turtles | Amphibians and Reptiles | Testudines | Food | 329 |
Western rattlesnake | Amphibians and Reptiles | Crotalus viridis | Poison | 329 |
Chinook or king salmon | Anadromous Fishes | Oncorynchus tshawytscha | Food | 326 |
Pacific lamprey | Anadromous Fishes | Lampetra tridentata | Food | 325 |
Rainbow trout | Anadromous Fishes | Oncorynchus mykiss, formerly salmo gairdneri | Food | 329 |
Sturgeons | Anadromous Fishes | Acipenser | Food | 327 |
Crayfish | Crustaceans and other water invertebrates | Astacidae | Food | 323 |
Hardhead | Freshwater fishes | Mylopharodon conocephalus | Food | 328 |
Sacramento perch | Freshwater fishes | Archoplites interruptus | Food | 328 |
Sacramento splittail | Freshwater fishes | Pogonichthys macrolepidotus | Food | 328 |
Sacramento Sucker | Freshwater fishes | Catostomus occidentalis | Food | 328 |
Steelhead | Freshwater fishes | Oncorynchus irideus | Food | 329 |
Thicktail chub | Freshwater fishes | Gila crassicauda | Food | 329 |
Angleworms or earthworms | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Lumbricus | Food | 324 |
Ants | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Formicidae | Food | 324 |
California gall wasp | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Andricus quercuscalifornicus | Medicine | 324 |
Caterpillars | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Lepidoptera | Food | 324 |
Ceanothus silk moth and polyphemus moth | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Hyalophora euryalus and antheraea polyphemus | Musical instruments | 324 |
Grasshoppers | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Caelifera | Food | 324 |
Honeybee | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Apis mellifera | Food | 325 |
Horseflies | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Tabanidae | Food | 325 |
Salmon flies | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Plecoptera | Food | 325 |
Yellowjacket larvae | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Vespula and dolichovespula | Food | 325 |
American coot | Marine birds and waterbirds | Fulica americana | Food; blankets | 331 |
Ducks | Marine birds and waterbirds | Anatidae | Food; baskets | 330 |
Geese | Marine birds and waterbirds | Anatidae | Food | 330 |
Grebes | Marine birds and waterbirds | Podicipedidae | Food | 331 |
Loons | Marine birds and waterbirds | Gaviidae | Food | 331 |
Rails | Marine birds and waterbirds | Rallidae | Food; blankets | 331 |
Freshwater clams | Shellfish | Sphaeriidae | Food; regalia | 323 |
Freshwater pearl mussel and Western ridged mussel | Shellfish | Margaritifera margaritifera and Gonidea angulata | Food; tools; lime | 323 |
Band-tailed pigeon and mourning dove | Terrestrial birds | Patagioenas fasciata and zenaida macroura | Food; weapons | 331 |
Blackbirds | Terrestrial birds | Icteridae | Food; baskets | 331 |
California quail | Terrestrial birds | Callipepla californica | Food; baskets; regalia | 333 |
Crows and ravens | Terrestrial birds | Corvidae | Regalia | 331 |
Dusky grouse | Terrestrial birds | Dendragapus obscurus | Weapons; musical instruments; clothing | 332 |
Falcons | Terrestrial birds | Falconidae | Regalia | 332 |
Golden eagle | Terrestrial birds | Aquila chrysaetos | Regalia; musical instruments | 332 |
Greater roadrunner | Terrestrial birds | Geococcyx californianus | Food; regalia; weapons | 332 |
Hawks | Terrestrial birds | Accipitridae | Regalia; weapons; fans | 332 |
Jays | Terrestrial birds | Corvidae | Food; regalia | 333 |
Owls | Terrestrial birds | Tytonidae and strigidae | Regalia | 333 |
Woodpeckers | Terrestrial birds | Picidae | Food; regalia | 333 |
Yellow-billed magpie | Terrestrial birds | Pica nuttallii | Regalia | 334 |
Bears | Terrestrial mammals | Ursus | Food; clothing; blankets; regalia | 334 |
Black-tailed deer or mule deer | Terrestrial mammals | Odocoileus hemionus columbianus | Food; weapons; tools; musical instruments; leather; clothing; blankets; sinew | 335 |
Chipmunks | Terrestrial mammals | Tamias amoenus and minimus | Food | 334 |
Foxes | Terrestrial mammals | Vulpes and Urocyon | Food(?); leather | 335 |
Gophers | Terrestrial mammals | Geomyidae | Food | 335 |
Hares and rabbits | Terrestrial mammals | Leporidae | Food; regalia; blankets; clothing | 335 |
Pronghorn | Terrestrial mammals | Antilocapra americana | Food; clothing; blankets; leather; containers (horn) | 336 |
Squirrels | Terrestrial mammals | Sciuridae | Food | 337 |
Tule elk | Terrestrial mammals | Cervus elaphus nannodes | Food; armor | 337 |
Woodrats | Terrestrial mammals | Neotoma | Food | 337 |
Minerals
COMMON NAME | TYPE | SCIENTIFIC NAME | USED FOR | PAGE* |
Basalt | Rocks and minerals | Basalt | Tools; weapons | 337 |
Chert | Rocks and minerals | Chert | Tools | 337 |
Clay | Rocks and minerals | Clay | Food additive; pigment; pottery | 338 |
Hematite | Rocks and minerals | Hematite | Pigment | 338 |
Magnesite | Rocks and minerals | Magnesite | Currency | 338 |
Obsidian | Rocks and minerals | Obsidian | Tools; weapons | 338 |
Salt | Rocks and minerals | Sodium chloride | Not given | 338 |
Steatite or soapstone | Rocks and minerals | Steatite | Tools; utensils; weapons | 338 |
*Page refers to LP2009 (Kent Lightfoot and Otis Parrish, California Indians and Their Environment. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2009.)