Ruellia californica  ( ) ( ) Acanthaceae This small shrub has slender, brittle stems, and showy lavender flowers. It is common in the southern part of the Seri region and certain parts of Tiburon Island, especially on rocky bajadas and hills near the mountains. R. peninsularis from the Baja California peninsula is similar and closely related to R. californica but differs in having dull oily glandular-pubescent foliage and not glabrate foliage which is glutinous and somewhat shiny. These characters might have an effect on the medicinal and smoking qualities of the plant. Food: nectar was sucked from the base of the corolla. Medicine: tea made from the leaves was taken for dizziness, and put on the face of one who was tired out. The same liquid was used as shampoo to relieve a headache, and also as eyedrops. As another means to cure a headache, the leaves or leafy branches were put on moderately hot or warm coals; then the toasted leaves were put in an olla with warm wa...

     Atriplex canescens  ( Fourwing Saltbush ) ( ) Chenopodiaceae These dense shrubs are common on coastal dunes and low-saline and alkaline soils. They have four-winged fruits. It can be distinguished from A. linearis by its larger stature and larger fruits and leaves. The Seri did not distinguish between them, and also sometimes did not distinguish them from   A. polycarpa . Medicine: tea made from the leaves was taken as an emetic. Shelter: the leafy branches were used as roofing material for the brush house. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".

    Allenrolfea occidentalis  ( Iodinebush ) ( ) Chenopodiaceae This evergreen bush or small shrub has succulent stems with bead-like green or reddish green joints and an alternate branching pattern. It is abundant at the desert edge of marshy and saline wet places throughout the Gulf of California. the seeds are reddish brown, about 0.8 mm long, and are produced in great quantity in mid-winter. A container the size of an ordinary work basket can be filled in about ten minutes by shaking the seed bearing branches into it. Food: the seeds were toasted, ground, and cooked as gruel, or mixed with turtle oil. The seeds were said to pop when toasted. Shelter: the branches wee used to provide shade and roofing for the brush house. The Supernatural: it was considered to be one of the first plants formed. It was one of several plants used in the smoking ceremonies. Tanning: because it was a soft plant, it was used to cover the ground beneath a deer hide to keep it clean during th...

    Stenocereus gummosus  ( ) ( ) Cactaceae This is a large sprawling cactus, the stems often arching and leaning, forming thickets of impenetrably spiny tangles commonly 2 to 3 m tall. It occurs throughout much of Baja California, on San Esteban and Tiburon Islands, and along the Sonoran coast from the vicinity of El Desemboque southward nearly to Cerro Prieto near the north end of Kino Bay. It somewhat resembles Stenocereus alamoensis ; however, the geographic ranges of the two species do not overlap and the flowers and fruit are very different. The stems and fruit are covered with very sharp and brittle twisted spines. The large whitish flowers are nocturnal. The fruit is about the size of a small orange. When it is ripe the spines tend to fall away. Throughout most of its range the fruit is red when ripe, although in the vicinity of El Desemboque the Seri know of plants which bear yellowish fruit. Flowering and fruiting generally begin later than the other large-fruit...

    Pachycereus pringlei  ( cardon ) ( cardón ) Cactaceae Cardon is the largest cactus in the Sonoran Desert, and one of the most striking features of the landscape in the Gulf of California region. It is common throughout most of Baja California, the Sonoran coast from Guaymas northward to Puerto Lobos and on most of the islands in the Gulf, including Tiburon and San Esteban. The geographic distribution of cardon in Sonora closely approximates the original area of occupation of the various Seri groups. The large white flowers usually appear in April and early May, and the fruit ripens in early summer. Fully ripe fruit often splits open to reveal the fleshy pulp and seeds. Spine length and color of the fruit pulp is variable, although an individual plant bears fruit of only one color and general spine length. Four types of fruit were classified according to color of the pulp:  red or red-purple, red the most common color white light yellow-orange pinkish-white  ...

   Lophocereus schottii  ( ) ( ) Cactaceae L. schottii is widespread in the lowlands of Tiburon Island and the mainland in the Seri region. Flowering and fruiting occur in hot weather from late spring to fall, although peak flwering and fruiting tend to be in early summer. The Seri reported that L. schottii  in to areas - one near the cnter of Tiburon Island and the other on the mainland near Punta Sargento - flower and fruit twice a year. The spineless fruit is 2 to 3 cm in diameter and becomes red when ripe. Food: the fruit was eaten fresh, although generally not harvested as a "crop". However, the people who lived in the interior of Tiburon Island ate much of the fruit. Since the fruit is mostly within easy reach, no pole was needed to collect it. Sometimes a fruit-bearing limb would be cut but not entirely severed, so that it swung down, allowing fruit in the center of the plant to be more accessible. Games: boys played a game called hasahcápoj pte cjeaatim "hitt...