Euphorbiaceae Chamaesyce serpyllifolia ssp. serpyllifolia

Thymeleaf Sandmat

Zuni - Food, Sweetener

Use documented by:
Stevenson, Matilda Coxe, 1915, Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians, SI-BAE Annual Report #30, page 67

View all documented uses for Chamaesyce serpyllifolia ssp. serpyllifolia

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Scientific name: Chamaesyce serpyllifolia ssp. serpyllifolia
USDA symbol: CHSES (View details at USDA PLANTS site)
Common names: Thymeleaf Sandmat
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Family (APG): Euphorbiaceae
Native American Tribe: Zuni
Use category: Food
Use sub-category: Sweetener
Notes: Root pieces used to sweeten corn meal. After the mouth had been thoroughly cleansed, the women who sweetened the corn placed a piece of it in their mouths. The root remained in the mouth for two days, except to take refreshment and to sleep. Each time the root was removed from the mouth, the mouth was cleansed with cold water before returning the root to it. Finally, when they began sweetening the corn, either yellow or black corn was used. The women, with their fingers, placed as much corn meal as possible into their mouths and held it there, without chewing, until the accumulation of saliva forced ejection of the mass.

RECRD: 32862 id: 9250

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