Tag Archives: Traditional Knowledge

Blue Elderberry Wildcraft

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Clusters of wild blue elderberries. “Delectable dishes made from elderberry are a leftover from old time housekeeping, when table luxuries were not so varied and abundant as they are now.” New-York Tribune, September 11, 1921 Wild elderberry trees are abloom … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Elderberries, Flora, Foraging, Hiking, History, Nature, Photos, Pics, Traditional Knowledge, Wildcraft | 2 Comments

Wild Cucumber, Trout and Pictographs

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Jack Elliott

Wild cucumber (Marah macrocarpus, previously called Echinocystis macrocarpa), also known as Manroot or Bigroot, was called molo’wot’ in Barbareño Chumash and chilicote in Spanish. Got it? “And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah; for … Continue reading →

Posted in Reference | Tagged Chumash, Fishing, Flora, Foraging, Hiking, Indians, Los Padres National Forest, Native Americans, Nature, Pictographs, Rock Art, Traditional Knowledge | 9 Comments

Holly-leaved Cherries

Posted on September 13, 2012 by Jack Elliott

Holly-leaved cherries (Prunus ilicifolia), seen here in the process of ripening, are a wild grown food that can be foraged in the local mountains. “Prunus ilicifolia is the most common wild cherry in coastal California south of San Francisco Bay, … Continue reading →

Posted in Reference | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Foraging, Hiking, Hiking (2), Outdoors, Photos, Pics, Traditional Knowledge, Wild Foods | 2 Comments

Eating Fire Roasted Yucca

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Jack Elliott

A yucca flower spike in full bloom. “There is a great deal of century plant of the species which the Mexicans call mescali. The mode of using it is as follows: they make a hole in the ground, fill it … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara | Tagged Backpacking, Camping, Chumash, Foraging, Hiking, History, Indians, Native Americans, Nature, Spanish Explorers, Traditional Knowledge, wildflowers, Yucca | 4 Comments

Making Soap From Yucca Video

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Jack Elliott

Here is a demonstration of some traditional Native American backcountry know-how on making soap from yucca (Yucca whipplei). It is, admittedly, esoteric knowledge that is obsolete in the current age of abundance where innumerable soap varieties are available in countless … Continue reading →