Paeoniaceae Paeonia californica Nutt.

California Peony

Diegueno - Food, Vegetable

Use documented by:
Hedges, Ken, 1986, Santa Ysabel Ethnobotany, San Diego Museum of Man Ethnic Technology Notes, No. 20, page 28

View all documented uses for Paeonia californica Nutt.

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Scientific name: Paeonia californica Nutt.
USDA symbol: PACA2 (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: California Peony
Family: Paeoniaceae
Family (APG): Paeoniaceae
Native American Tribe: Diegueno
Use category: Food
Use sub-category: Vegetable
Notes: Leaves cooked as greens. Young leaves were picked before the blossoms appeared in the spring. They were prepared by boiling, placing the boiled leaves in a cloth sack and weighting the sack down in the river with a stone, allowing the water to flow through the greens overnight to remove the bitterness in them. Alternatively, the boiled leaves could be soaked in a pan and the water changed until the bitterness was removed. The leaves were then cooked as greens, with onions and eaten as a vegetable with acorn mush. The greens could also be prepared by boiling them twice, rather than letting them wash in the river.

RECRD: 2497 id: 25337

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