Xanthium orientale explained

Xanthium orientale is a species of annual plant of the daisy family Asteraceae.^[1]

Use by Native Americans

The Zuni people use the plant for multiple purposes. The chewed seeds are rubbed onto the body before the cactus ceremony to protect it from spines. A compound poultice of seeds is applied to wounds or used to remove splinters.^[2] The seeds are also ground, mixed with cornmeal, made into cakes, and steamed for food.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Xanthium orientale L. Plants of the World Online Kew Science . 2022-07-01 . Plants of the World Online . en.
2. Stevenson . Matilda Coxe . 1915 . Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians . SI-BAE Annual Report . 30 . 62–63.
3. Castetter . Edward F. . 1935 . Ethnobiological Studies in the American Southwest I. Uncultivated Native Plants Used as Sources of Food . University of New Mexico Bulletin . 4. 1. 1–44, 54.