Chumash Plant Foods

Island oak

Tim Hauf, timhaufphotography.com

Island Chumash Plant Usage Guide Stop 2

The acorn (misi) was an important food source for many California Indian groups. Each fall acorns were gathered, hulled, dried, and stored in large granary baskets. During the summer these baskets sat on wooden platforms outside the homes; during the rainy season the baskets were taken inside. When prepared, acorns were ground into meal, leached to remove the tannic acid and bitter flavor, and cooked in mush.

Although the Island Chumash gathered acorns, oaks are less abundant on the Channel Islands than on the mainland. To increase their supply of acorns and other medicinal and food plants, the islanders engaged in trade or undertook gathering expeditions to the mainland.

The Island Chumash also compensated for the short supply of acorns by substituting other plant foods in their place. One important alternative was island cherry ( 'akhtayukhash ). Most often island cherry grows as a large shrub, however, in deep, moist soils and with ample sunshine, it can grow into a forty-foot tree. Island cherry blooms from spring through early summer; when ripe the fruit ranges in color from dark purple to black, and is characterized by a large seed and pulpy flesh. The Chumash boiled the seeds until a thick mush or paste remained, which they molded into balls.

Other seed foods, including manzanita, chia, and red maids, were ground into meal and cooked in mush or prepared as small cakes. Bulbs, roots, and tubers were roasted or baked in underground earth ovens, while green plants such as clover were eaten raw.