This is an account of what food grows wild, how it is used, and by whom. Considered inedible or exotic by some, the Native Americans have harvested these foods for thousands of years.

"Food Plants of the Sanoran Desert includes not only plants such as gourds and legumes but also unexpected food sources such as palms, lilies, and cattails, all of which have provided nutrition to desert peoples. Each species entry lists recorded names and describes indigenous uses, which often include nonfood therapeutic and commodity applications. The agave, for example, is cited for its use as food and for alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, syrup, fiber, cordage, clothing, sandals, nets, blankets, lances, fire hearths, musical instruments, hedgerows, soap, and medicine, and for ceremonial purposes. The agave entry includes information on harvesting, roasting, and consumption - and on distinguishing between edible and inedible varieties.".

Drawing on thousands of years of foodways, Tucson cuisine blends the influences of Indigenous, Mexican, mission-era Mediterranean, and ranch-style cowboy food traditions. This book offers a food pilgrimage, where stories and recipes demonstrate why the desert city of Tucson became American’s first UNESCO City of Gastronomy. Both family supper tables and the city’s trendiest restaurants feature native desert plants and innovative dishes incorporating ancient agricultural staples. Award-winning writer Carolyn Niethammer deliciously shows how the Sonoran Desert’s first farmers grew tasty crops that continue to influence Tucson menus and how the arrival of Roman Catholic missionaries, Spanish soldiers, and Chinese farmers influenced what Tucsonans ate. White Sonora wheat, tepary beans, and criollo cattle steaks make Tucson’s cuisine unique. In A Desert Feast, you’ll see pictures of kids learning to grow food at school, and you’ll meet the farmers, small-scale food entrepreneurs, and chefs who are dedicated to growing and using heritage foods. It’s fair to say, “Tucson tastes like nowhere else.”

Eat Mesquite and More celebrates native food forests of the Sonoran Desert and beyond with over 170 recipes featuring wild, indigenous foods, including mesquite, acorn, barrel cactus, chiltepin, cholla, desert chia, desert herbs and flowers, desert ironwood, hackberry, palo verde, prickly pear, saguaro, wolfberry, and wild greens. The recipes--contributed by desert dwellers, harvesters, chefs, and innovators--capture a spirit of adventure and reverence inviting both newcomers and seasoned experts to try new foods and experiment with new flavors. More than a cookbook, this guide also encourages a renaissance of "wild agriculture," one that foregrounds the ethical harvesting and selection of wild foods and the re-planting of native food sources in urban and residential areas without imported water or fertilizers. It contains stories of significant individuals, organizations, and businesses that have contributed knowledge, products, and innovation in the planting, harvesting, and use of wild, native desert foods. Additional essays reveal the poetry of the foraging life, how to plant the rain, and medicinal uses and ethnobotanical histories of desert plants. Many of the food plants included in this cookbook--or close relatives of them--can be found or grown in the other deserts and drylands of North America and South America. As such, this book becomes a template for harvesting and cooking throughout the Americas. Universally, its concepts and approach can help communities everywhere collaborate with their ecosystem, while enhancing the health of all.

One of the most recognizable animals of the Southwest, the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) makes its home in both the Sonoran and Mohave Deserts, as well as in tropical areas to the south in Mexico. Called by Tohono O'odham people "komik'c-ed," or "shell with living thing inside," it is one of the few desert creatures kept as a domestic pet—as well as one of the most studied reptiles in the world. Most of our knowledge of desert tortoises comes from studies of Mohave Desert populations in California and Nevada. However, the ecology, physiology, and behavior of these northern populations are quite different from those of their southern, Sonoran Desert, and tropical cousins, which have been studied much less. Differences in climate and habitat have shaped the evolution of three races of desert tortoises as they have adapted to changes in heat, rainfall, and sources of food and shelter as the deserts developed in the last ten million years. This book presents the first comprehensive summary of the natural history, biology, and conservation of the Sonoran and Sinaloan desert tortoises, reviewing the current state of knowledge of these creatures with appropriate comparisons to Mohave tortoises. It condenses a vast amount of information on population ecology, activity, and behavior based on decades of studying tortoise populations in Arizona and Sonora, Mexico, and also includes important material on the care and protection of tortoises. Thirty-two contributors address such topics as tortoise fossil records, DNA analysis, and the mystery of secretive hatchlings and juveniles. Tortoise health is discussed in chapters on the care of captives, and original data are presented on the diets of wild and captive tortoises, the nutrient content of plant foods, and blood parameters of healthy tortoises. Coverage of conservation issues includes husbandry methods for captive tortoises, an overview of protective measures, and an evaluation of threats to tortoises from introduced grass and wildfires. A final chapter on cultural knowledge presents stories and songs from indigenous peoples and explores their understanding of tortoises. As the only comprehensive book on the desert tortoise, this volume gathers a vast amount of information for scientists, veterinarians, and resource managers while also remaining useful to general readers who keep desert tortoises as backyard pets. It will stand as an enduring reference on this endearing creature for years to come.

Over the last few decades, interest in eating locally has grown quickly. From just-picked apples in Washington to fresh peaches in Georgia, local food movements and farmer’s markets have proliferated all over the country. Desert dwellers in the Southwest are taking a new look at prickly pear, mesquite, and other native plants. Many people’s idea of cooking with southwestern plants begins and ends with prickly pear jelly. With this update to the classic Tumbleweed Gourmet, master cook Carolyn Niethammer opens a window on the incredible bounty of the southwestern deserts and offers recipes to help you bring these plants to your table. Included here are sections featuring each of twenty-three different desert plants. The chapters include basic information, harvesting techniques, and general characteristics. But the real treat comes in the form of some 150 recipes collected or developed by the author herself. Ranging from every-day to gourmet, from simple to complex, these recipes offer something for cooks of all skill levels. Some of the recipes also include stories about their origin and readers are encouraged to tinker with the ingredients and enjoy desert foods as part of their regular diet. Featuring Paul Mirocha’s finely drawn illustrations of the various southwestern plants discussed, this volume will serve as an indispensible guide from harvest to table. Whether you’re looking for more ways to prepare local foods, ideas for sustainable harvesting, or just want to expand your palette to take in some out-of-the-ordinary flavors, Cooking the Wild Southwest is sure to delight.

Arizona is a diverse area from the Colorado Plateau to the lowland basin and range areas of the Sonoran desert. Foraging Arizona addresses all the traditional plants from mesquite, amaranth, and cactus fruits, to the common urban weeds such as purslane, mallow, and lambs quarter. You'll learn about the edible wild foods and healthful herbs of Arizona. Organized by botanical families with a helpful guide to the environmental zone, this is an authoritative guide for nature lovers and gastronomes. Use Foraging Arizona as a field guide or as a delightful armchair read. No matter what you're looking for, whether it’s history of how native plants were used or how you can forage some of your meals at home or on hiking trips, this guide will enhance your next backpacking trip or easy stroll around the garden. Inside you'll find: Detailed descriptions of edible plants Tips on finding, preparing, and using foraged foods A glossary of botanical terms Full-color photos