Eriogonum inflatum  ( ) ( ) Polygonaceae Perennial herb with several or many slender, erect growing, branched flower stalks. The main axis is sometimes hollow and inflated. Commonly found among rocks on the mainland and on  Tiburon Island and San Esteban Island. Medicine: tea made from the plant was taken as a remedy for cold.  "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".

      Plantago ovata  (Desert Plantain ) ( ) Plantaginaceae Plantago ovata var. insularis   This winter-spring ephemeral often carpets the desert following times of sufficient rainfall. It generally occurs on level terrain on the desert floor on the mainland and Tiburon Island. The size of the plant and number of flowers and seeds varies with the amount of soil moisture. Under favorable conditions each plant develops a half-dozen or more slender spikes 10 to 15 cm tall, each of which bears numerous yellowish to reddish brown seeds 2 to 2.5 mm long. Food: the seeds, often stored in pottery vessels, were an important food. In the 1980s a common methos of harvesting involved the following procedure. Whole plants with matures seeds were pulled up and gathered in a pile. While sitting on the ground, the women rolled the fruiting spikes in their hands to free the seeds and let the seeds and chaff fall onto their outspread skirts. They then picked up handfuls of the se...

     Stegnosperma halimifolium  ( ) ( ) Phytolaccaceae It is a common shrub along the shores of the Gulf including the major islands, and often ranges inland through arroyos and washes. The nearly evergreen foliage consists of simple, semi-succulent leaves. At various times of the year it bears fragrant, star-shaped flowers and juicy red fruit. Medicine: to relieve a headache, the leaves were cooked with leaves of Bursera microphylla and the mixture uses as shampoo. It was said that women going for firewood should carry leaves of this plant in their clothing or tied in their head scarves. If bitten by a rattlesnake, they were to chew the leaves to make a paste, then rub it on the bite. It was said that one would not die if treated in this manner. Oral Tradition: this plant features in the story of two brothers who became angry with their people and went to Baja California. The brothers were found by two giant women who turned them into giants by rubbing their feet, h...

    Passiflora arida  ( ) ( ) Passifloraceae It was said to be one of coyote's plants because of the inferior quality of the fruit was compared with the other passion vine in the region. This small passion vine occurs in scattered locations across the desert on the mainland and Tiburon Island. It flowers and fruits at various times of the year following periods of sufficient soil moisture. The leaves are whitish lanate (wooly). Food: the fruit was eaten fresh. Since about the middle of the twentieth century it was usually eaten only by children. It was of minor dietary importance. Some said it had a disagreeable taste, while others claimed it was good eating. The fruit was said to stink and to smell like guava. Medicine: the roots were cooked in water and the tea drunk for intestinal disorder. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".

    Eschscholzia parishii  ( ) ( ) Papaveraceae In years with favorable winter-spring rainfall, this spring wildflower is found on the mainland in the northern part of the Seri region. The flowers are golden yellow. It is replaced by E. minutiflora in the Sierra Seri and on Tiburon Island. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".

   Argemone pleiacantha  ( ) ( ) Papaveraceae It is a perennial herb, bearing large flowers with white petals and numerous large, yellow stamens. Found on abandoned farmland northeast of El Desemboque. It is rare in the undisturbed natural desert in the Seri Region. Medicine: to relieve kidney pain a tea was made from the leaves wrapped in cloth and steeped in water. This tea was also used to make a woman "lose bad blood" after parturition. Tea made from this plant was taken to cause expulsion of the remaining portion of a torn placenta. A medicinal tea made from this plant's leaves cooked in water with the inner bark from the root of Opuntia fulgida was taken for urinary problems, as a diuretic, and to "clear the urine". It was said to "rest" the kidneys and relieve the pain. "People of the Desert and Sea, Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians".