Plants and Herbs Used by American Indians

Sargentodiaz · May 7, 2015

As part of researching my contemporary novel, Sonora Symphony, I came across the following plants found in the Sonora Desert that were used by healers. Later, when the Spanish arrived and began to intermix in the southwest, curanderos continued to use and expand the uses of the plants.

Homeopathic clinics have these available, to be perfectly honest, you can go to just about any supermarket or small store catering to Mexicans or other Latinos to find these available – most often pre-packaged.

Disclaimer: I am not a dietician or an expert of any form or nature about the preparation and use of these. I can only state that I have come to believe they work as the result of being married to a Mexican for the past 26 years. She regularly uses them and, when I pay attention and do what she tells me – they work for me.

I think the easiest to obtain and cook is nopal, the leaves of the prickly pear cactus. If you have any of your own, please add them here and I'd appreciate it if you'd add them as a comment to my blog – A Soldier's Stories @ http://lvcabbie.blogspot.com

Tazlima · May 7, 2015

I don't know about healing properties, per se, but I know some desert plants that are useful in a pinch.

- The sap/juice stuff inside prickley pear leaves makes a decent makeshift sunblock (along the lines of aloe).

- Mesquite tree pods are edible. You pop them open and eat the bean-looking things inside. Like beans, they're much better if you cook them first.

- Then there's the barrel cactus (which can be differentiated from a baby saguaro by looking at the needles. If I recall correctly, the saguaro has straight needles while the barrel cactus has hooked). It's not actually filled with water like the name implies, but the interior part of the flesh is juicy (the way an orange is juicy). You can take a handful of the flesh, point your thumb at your mouth, and squeeze. The juice will run down your thumb into your mouth. It tastes nasty, but it will keep you alive.*

*Disclaimer: I've never actually tried this myself and wouldn't recommend it unless you're actually lost in the desert. Some species of barrel cactus are endangered and busting one open can easily kill it.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head.

Plants and Herbs Used by American Indians

Sargentodiaz

Tazlima