Native American Foods: Technology and Food Sources: Food Plants

Since ancient times America’s greatest culinary strength has been its abundance of edible plants growing naturally according to regional conditions. Domesticated animals were rare (only the dog and the turkey in North America), and wild fish and animals were secondary apart from hunting and fishing centers such as the Plains and the West Coast. Knowledge of wild plants was extensive. It has been estimated that each tribe knew about and used more than one hundred species. The vast reaches of North America held numerous varieties of plants and trees, each with distinct culinary assets. Some plants grew only in specific locations and under limited conditions, exemplified by the century plant (genus Agave) of the southwestern dessert and wild rice (Zizania aquatica) of northern prairie waterways. Other plants, such as shadbush and serviceberry, Juneberry, or saskatoon as they are variously known (genus Amelanchier), were adaptable. The many regional varieties produced sweet fruit cross country, north to south.