Native American's use of plants for food and medicine includes Native American common and botanical names.

Information from many sources has been compiled here to present the most important uses of plants by early inhabitants of California, as well as methods of preparing the plants for use. The Indian method of leaching acorn meal so it could be eaten, the medicinal value of Yerba Mansa, the use of other plants for making baskets, rope, and clothing, are some of the subjects treated.

"The purpose of this project is to provide a resource guide for medical providers and traditional health care practitioners in an effort to better coordinate patient care with traditional practices. This guide will help to illuminate some contraindications of western medicine with Southern California Native American traditional medicine, in hopes of protecting patients from any negative reactions. A secondary purpose ... is to make available information about traditional medicine to anyone interested in disease prevention through Native American knowledge and traditions."--P. 1.

For thousands of years, the Kumeyaay people of northern Baja California and southern California made their homes in the diverse landscapes of the region, interacting with native plants and continuously refining their botanical knowledge. Today, many Kumeyaay Indians in the far-flung ranches of Baja California carry on the traditional knowledge and skills for transforming native plants into food, medicine, arts, tools, regalia, construction materials, and ceremonial items. Kumeyaay Ethnobotany explores the remarkable interdependence between native peoples and native plants of the Californias through in-depth descriptions of 47 native plants and their uses, lively narratives, and hundreds of vivid photographs. It connects the archaeological and historical record with living cultures and native plant specialists who share their ever-relevant wisdom for future generations. Book jacket.

Josephine Peters, a revered northern California Indian elder and Native healer, shares her vast, lifelong cultural knowledge on personal and tribal history, gathering ethics and preparations, then offers a catalogue of the uses and doses of over 160 plants.