Local Trees and Shrubs of Washington State Native American Usage

Vetch This American Vetch belongs to a group of annual and perennial plants that were used for forage, food, and fodder. The Vetch is a leguminous plant with small flowers that is often used for silage or fodder, Genus; Vincia.

Native American Uses The Native Americans soaked the roots and used it as a hair wash.

Camas Most important of Idaho’s indigenous food plants and a contributing factor of Native people congregated at the camas meadows in spring tell late summer to trade, socialize, and gather sweet nutritious bulbs on the Camas plant.

Native American Uses Techniques of gathering and burning of camas meadows were a form of early plant husbandry. Camas was best prepared by slow cooking for several days in a earths oven. It was often dried for later use or trade.

The Sword Fern Sword Ferns are used for…  Mattresses  Lining baking pits  The leaves look like small swords.  Sword Fern roots can be baked and eaten.

Native American’s Use For Sword Fern Native Americans would use the spore on the back of a Sword Fern’s leaf to ease cuts and burns. Kind of like ointment. SPORES

Broad Leaved Cattail The Broad leaved Cattail is brown and shaped like a cigar,and made of tightly stiff stalks. The male Broad leaved Cattail is short, stubby,and has a fluffy tail which will disappear in later summer. There habitat is marshes and sallow edges of ponds.

Native American Uses The natives used this plant to make food.Similar to Asparagus eaten like corn on the cob, and could be boiled like potatoes.They even make it into flour. If they needed insulations for walls they could use the Cattail.

 Bark: The color is Reddish/Brown. This bark is broken into large loose scales and is corn-flaky and crackles when pressed or walked on.  Fruit: A pendent cone, 2 ½ to 4 inches long.  There are needles on this tree that are sharp and prickly.

Native American Uses  The word Sitka Spruce is called Piecea Sitchensis in Native American language.  The sprig of the tree is used as a charm for whaling.  The roots are used for basketry, rain hats, and a rope for whaling.  The pitch is used for canoe caulking.

The Pacific Yew By: Tuesday The Pacific Yew is found in the mountains of Northeastern Washington, also from the coast to the Cascade Divide, Blue Mountains, and sometimes along streams of Eastern Washington. The time of the growth is very slow. One of the important characteristics are the single needles, which give the twig a flattened look.

Native uses Of The Pacific Yew Used to make bows, arrows, and whale harpoons. Used for canoe paddles, and war clubs. Made into wedges for splitting logs, household utensils, combs, drum frames, digging sticks for roots and clams.

By Sarina The Douglas fir is very big. It has long flat needles. There are two kinds of Douglas fir. The coastal and the mountain.

The Douglas fir is used to make salmon spears. It’s bark is boiled to heal infections. Also the bark is boiled to use as die so the fish can’t see the net.

Vine Maple Leaves turn a bright red in the fall They grow in clumps There twigs go like vines By Cortney

Native Uses Vine maple was used for weaving baskets The vine maple was also used to make snowshoes It was also used to make salmon tongs

Big Leaf Maple Bark was made into rope. Used leaves to lay fish on while cleaning them. Used to build framework for sweat lodges.

Big Leaf Maple The little buds that fall off are a type of seed.