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Plant Brochure
Luiseño version

Native Plant Brochure
Text by: Josh Walker, Josh Winston, Manal
Images: Josh Walker and Josh Winston

San Luis Rey Band of Luiseño Indians
All around us there are reminders of the Native Americans and their culture. One of the most interesting reminders is the Indian Rock and Native Plant Garden in Vista, California. This rock and the surrounding area were used for girls’ coming-of-age ceremonies by the Luiseño people. Young Luiseño women painted drawings, also known as pictographs, on the rock hundreds of years ago.

The San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians are Luiseños, the most southwestern group of Shoshonean language-speaking people in the greater North American desert. Their traditional territories center on the rivers, valleys, and mountains of the lower and coastal San Luis Rey River.

The Luiseño people, like other Native American people, knew so much about the land and the plants that they were able to make everything they needed using the plants around them. They survived well without the modern luxuries we have today. By living in harmony with nature and knowing how to use various plants and resources, the Luiseño were able to make medicines, tools, foods, weapons, instruments, and many more useful items out of the same trees and bushes that we see everyday.
The next few pages highlight five of the hundreds of plants that the Luiseño and other Native Americans utilized. These plants are all present at the Indian Rock Native Plant Garden in Vista, California.

$Ûyla     juncus     Juncus textilis
Juncus, or Wiregrass, is one of the main plants used to make baskets. Luiseño baskets were made out of a mixture of Sumac, Juncus, and Deergrass, among other plants. Baskets were used to carry, store, and cook foods. Some Luiseño baskets were so tightly woven that they could hold water without any of it dripping out! Preparation of the Juncus for weaving involves collecting, cleaning, splitting, and sizing the rush. Furthermore, the Juncus must be dried out in the sun for several months. Eventually, the Juncus is ready to be woven into a basket. The start, or heart of all baskets, is made from Yucca, another native plant. The bottom part of the Juncus, which tends to be darker in color, is used to make darker colors for the basket designs.

wi’·a$al     coastal live oak     Quercus agrifolia Nee
There are several types of oak trees in southern California. At the Indian Rock Native Plant Garden, the most abundant oak is the Coastal Live Oak. Like all oaks, the Coastal Live Oak produces acorns. In the absence of black oak [kwííla], the acorns of the Coastal Live Oak were often used as a food source. The Black acorn made the best wííwish, or acorn meal, and was collected on Palomar Mountain. The acorn was a very important part of the Luiseño diet. Through processing acorns, the Luiseño were able to make flour, breads, puddings, and acorn meal. The acorn meal, or wííwish, was one of the most prized foods that came from the oak tree. In addition to its nutritional value, the oak also provides food and shelter to animals of the community.

kóolul     bigberry manzanita     Arctostaphylos glauca
The Manzanita was used by Native Americans mainly for food and utilitarian purposes. The Manzanita fruit was a very important part of the Luiseño diet. The fruits are often referred to as ‘little apples’. The Luiseño were able to produce various foods and cider from the berries of the Manzanita. The wood of the Manzanita is also very hard and was used to make utensils, weapons, and various other items. One such item resembles a hammer and was used by people such as the Luiseño as both a tool and a weapon.

k²utpat     elderberry     Sambucus mexicana
The Elderberry has food, medicinal, utilitarian, and cultural uses. The purple-black berries are high in Vitamin C and are used in pies, jams, jellies, and wine. Elderberry wine or tea is excellent for fighting ailments from the common cold to the flu. Elderberry works as a natural laxative and a skin topical. Also, Elderberry leaves soaked in water create green tinted water which was used to bless the dead. The woody stems can be used to make clapper sticks and flutes used in cultural dances and ceremonies. The twigs can also be made into whistles. The juice of the elderberries makes excellent black and purple basket dyes, while the stems make yellow/orange dyes. The Elderberry wood also can be used to make bows used to kill game animals.Did you know that there are over 18 Indian reservations right here in San Diego County? This is the most concentrated area of indigenous land holdings in the United States! In fact, before European colonists came to America, it was occupied by Native Americans. They probably once lived where you are standing right now!

hun²uvat     yucca     Yucca whipplei parishii
The Yucca has medicinal, utilitarian, and cultural uses. The stalks are eaten as a substitute for pumpkin in pies and breads. The Yucca produces berries which can be soaked, pounded with Yucca fruit, mixed with water and drained to make a drink. The flowers can also be eaten raw. The leaves of the Yucca can be used for arthritis, fever, headaches, ulcers, and appendicitis. When boiled, the roots can be used for sores, hives, chicken pox, itching rashes, and gangrene. Also, the start or the “heart” of most baskets, comes from the “heart” of the Yucca plant. Leaves were also dried and processed by the Luiseño to make ropes, nets, snares, skirts and woven sandals. Today, one can buy Yucca extracts, pills, and juices at most health food stores.