Seeds used as food. To’ka (buttercup? seed). The specimen consists of mixture of achenes of Ranunculus californicus Benth., California buttercup, Ranunculaceae and fruits of Plectritis congesta (Lindl.) DC., shortspur seablush, Valerianaceae. Other items found and placed in gelatin capsules: 58 fruits and accessory structures of Carex spp., sedge, Cyperaceae; 46 florets of Bromus hordeaceus L., brome mou, lop grass, soft brome, or soft chess, Poaceae; 45 seeds of Cerastium glomeratum Thuill., clammy chickweed or sticky mouse-ear chickweed, Caryophyllaceae; 28 florets of Vulpia myuros (L.) C. C. Gmel., annual fescue, foxtail fescue, or rat-tail fescue, Poaceae; 15 florets of Vulpia bromoides (L.) Gray, squirreltail fescue, Poaceae; 5 seeds, fruits, and flower parts of Trifolium microdon Hook. & Arn., small cup clover, square-head clover, or thimble clover, Fabaceae; 4 seeds, fruits, and flower parts of Trifolium bifidum A. Gray, notch-leaf clover or pinole clover, Fabaceae; 4 seeds of Trifolium variegatum Nutt., whitetip clover, Fabaceae; 3 fruits of Sonchus asper (L.) Hill, prickly sow thistle, Asteraceae; 3 nutlets of Amsinckia menziesii (Lehm.) A. Nelson & J. F. Macbr., Boraginaceae; 3 fruits of Agoseris heterophylla (Nutt.) Greene, annual agoseris, Asteraceae; 2 spikelets groups Hordeum brachyantherum Nevski, meadow barley, Poaceae; 1 fruit of Limnanthes spp., meadowfoam, Limnanthaceae; 1 nutlet of Salvia carduacea Benth., thistle sage, Lamiaceae; 1 nutlet of Salvia columbariae Benth., California chia, Lamiaceae
Donor:
Samuel A. Barrett
Collection place:
Round Valley, Mendocino County, California
Verbatim coll. place:
California; Mendocino; Round Valley
Culture or time period:
Wailaki
Collector:
Samuel A. Barrett
Collection date:
July 1907
Taxon:
Amsinckia, Plectritis congesta, and Ranunculus californicus
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Botanical samples
Function:
8.1 Foods
Accession date:
1907
Context of use:
Used for food.
Department:
Native California (archaeology and ethnology)
Comment:
Samuel A. Barrett "field notes, p. 28: to'ka Buttercup seed lo'tankan. It looks as though these were both generic names for seeds.
Loans:
S1987-1988 #41: University of North Carolina/Geirge R. Holcomb (March 29, 1988–July 6, 1990) and S2008-2009 #11: Seed Lab, Plant Pest Diagnostics Center (CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture)/Department of Agriculture, UC Davis (April 6, 2009–December 1, 2009)