Natural Resources Used in the Southern Deserts Region
Plants
| COMMON NAME | TYPE | SCIENTIFIC NAME | USED FOR | PAGE* |
| Agaves | Cacti and succulents | Agave | Food; cordage; footwear; weapons | 356 |
| California barrel cactus | Cacti and succulents | Ferocactus cylindraceus | Food; tools | 357 |
| Chollas | Cacti and succulents | Cylindropuntia | Food; medicine | 357 |
| Hedgehog cacti | Cacti and succulents | Echinocereus | Food; poison | 357 |
| Mojave yucca | Cacti and succulents | Yucca schidegera | Food; cordage; footwear; soap | 358 |
| Our Lord’s Candle | Cacti and succulents | Yucca whipplei | Food; cordage; footwear; soap | 358 |
| Prickly-pears | Cacti and succulents | Opuntia | Food; needles; medicine | 357 |
| Spanish bayonet | Cacti and succulents | Yucca baccata | Food; cordage; footwear; soap | 358 |
| Chia | Herbaceous Plants | Salvia columbariae | Food; medicine | 346 |
| Deergrass | Herbaceous Plants | Muhlenbergia rigens | Baskets | 346 |
| Goosefoots | Herbaceous Plants | Chenopodium | Food | |
| Pigweed or amaranths | Herbaceous Plants | Amaranthus | Food | 346 |
| Rushes | Herbaceous Plants | Juncus | Baskets | 347 |
| Saltbushes | Herbaceous Plants | Atriplex | Food; medicine | 347 |
| Stinging nettle | Herbaceous Plants | Urtica dioica | Medicine; basketry; cordage; food | 347 |
| Toloache or jimson weed | Herbaceous Plants | Datura wrightii | Intoxicant; medicine | 347 |
| Tules or bulrushes | Herbaceous Plants | Schoenoplectus | Food; boats; building material | 348 |
| Wild tobaccos | Herbaceous Plants | Nicotiana | Intoxicant; medicine | 348 |
| Yerba mansa or lizard’s tail | Herbaceous Plants | Anemopsis californica | Medicine; food | 348 |
| Arrowweed | Trees and shrubs | Pluchea sericea | Building material; weapons; tools; adhesives | 349 |
| Black oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus kelloggii | Food | 352 |
| California fan palm | Trees and shrubs | Washingtonia filifera | Food; building material | 349 |
| California juniper | Trees and shrubs | Juniperus california | Building material; food; medicine | 349 |
| Canyon live oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus chrysolepis | Food | 353 |
| Chamise or greasewood | Trees and shrubs | Adenostoma fasciculatum | Building material; weapons; musical instruments; adhesives; medicine | 350 |
| Coast live oak | Trees and shrubs | Quercus agrifolia | Food; weapons | 353 |
| Creosote bush | Trees and shrubs | Larrea tridentata | Medicine | 350 |
| Desert-Willow | Trees and shrubs | Chilopsis linearis | Building material | 350 |
| Elderberries | Trees and shrubs | Sambucus | Food; medicine; pigment | 348 |
| Fremont cottonwood | Trees and shrubs | Populus fremontii | Utensils; building materials; medicine | 350 |
| Holly-leafed cherry or Islay | Trees and shrubs | Prunus illicifolia | Food; medicine | 350 |
| Honey mesquite | Trees and shrubs | Prosopis glandulosa | Food; utensils; building material; tools; weapons; cordage; clothing; adhesive; soap; medicine | 351 |
| Jojoba | Trees and shrubs | Simmondsia chinensis | Food; medicine | 351 |
| Manzanitas | Trees and shrubs | Arctostaphylos | Food; fuel; medicine | 352 |
| Mormon teas | Trees and shrubs | Ephedra | Medicine; food | 352 |
| Mule fat or seep-willow | Trees and shrubs | Baccharis salicifolia | Medicine; building material; tools | 352 |
| Parry pinyon | Trees and shrubs | Pinus quadrifolia | Food; baskets; adhesives; medicine | 354 |
| Sagebrushes | Trees and shrubs | Artemisia | Medicine; building material; weapons | 354 |
| Screwbean | Trees and shrubs | Prosopis pubescens | Food; weapons | 355 |
| Scrub oaks | Trees and shrubs | Quercus dumosa and turbinella | Food; medicine | 353 |
| Singleleaf pinyon | Trees and shrubs | Pinus monophylla | Food; baskets; adhesives; medicine | 354 |
| Skunkbush | Trees and shrubs | Rhus trilobata | Baskets; food | 355 |
| Sumacs | Trees and shrubs | Rhus | Food | 355 |
| Western choke-cherry | Trees and shrubs | Prunus virginiana var. demissa | Food | 355 |
| White sage | Trees and shrubs | Salvia apiana | Medicine; deodorant; food | 355 |
| Willows | Trees and shrubs | Salix | Baskets; building material; weapons; clothing; cordage | 356 |
| Yerba santa or mountain balm | Trees and shrubs | Eriodictyon californicum | Medicine | 356 |
Animals
| COMMON NAME | TYPE | SCIENTIFIC NAME | USED FOR | PAGE* |
| Western rattlesnake | Amphibians and Reptiles | Crotalus viridis | Food; poison; medicine | 359 |
| Honeybee | Insects and other terrestrial invertebrates | Apis mellifera | Food | 358 |
| Golden eagle | Terrestrial birds | Aquila chrysaetos | Regalia | 360 |
| Hawks | Terrestrial birds | Accipitridae | Weapons; regalia | 360 |
| Quails | Terrestrial birds | Odontophoridae | Food | 360 |
| Bears | Terrestrial mammals | Ursus | Food; hides; regalia | 361 |
| Black-tailed deer or mule deer | Terrestrial mammals | Odocoileus hemionus columbianus | Food; cordage; clothing; tools; musical instruments | 362 |
| Coyote and foxes | Terrestrial mammals | Canidae | Hides; containers | 361 |
| Hares and rabbits | Terrestrial mammals | Leporidae | Food; blankets; clothing | 361 |
| Pronghorn | Terrestrial mammals | Antilocapra americana | Food | 362 |
| Squirrels | Terrestrial mammals | Sciuridae | Food | 362 |
| Woodrats | Terrestrial mammals | Neotoma | Food | 362 |
Minerals
| COMMON NAME | TYPE | SCIENTIFIC NAME | USED FOR | PAGE* |
| Clay | Rocks and minerals | Clay | Ceramics; cosmetics | 363 |
| Obsidian | Rocks and minerals | Obsidian | Weapons; tools | 363 |
| Salt | Rocks and minerals | Sodium chloride | Not given | 363 |
*Page refers to LP2009 (Kent Lightfoot and Otis Parrish, California Indians and Their Environment. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2009.)