The newsletter for friends of The Baca Institute of Ethnobotany

Volume 3 No. 4 Fall 1997

Plant Voice

The Indomitable Rocky Mountain Beeplant

by Kirsten Swinski

Rocky Mountain Beeplant (Cleome serrulata Pursh.) is an erect, annual herb in the Caper family (Capparaceae). It branches a few inches from the ground and sends up slender, leafy, flowering stalks. If water is plentiful, beeplant can grow up to 3 1/2 feet tall. Leaves are alternate and tripinnate, sometimes closely resembling sweet clover, Meliotus spp (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997). The leaf margins can be entire or serrate. Beeplant flowers are purplish-pink and grow in terminal clusters. At high altitudes, Cleome serrulata flowers are sometimes white. Each flower has 4 clawed petals and 6 stamen that exceed the petals' length. Cleome serrulata flowers from mid-June until early September. Stems are usually purple-green when young and then become olive-green to yellow-green as they get older (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997). Fruits are dry, narrow pods reaching lengths of 2-8 centimeters. The blackish-brown mottled seeds take on an egg shape upon maturity in the fall.

"Cleome" is of Greek origin and comes from "kleio" meaning to enclose or to shut up. Octavius Horatius, a Roman physician, used this Latin word to describe the mustard plant, which resembles the beeplant in appearance. Linneaus named beeplant "Cleome" in the 4th century (Kindscher,19 92). "Serrulata" means "somewhat toothed" referring to the serrated leaf margins.

Common names for this plant include Rocky Mountain beeplant, blue Colorado beeweed, stink flower, spider plant, guaco, stinking clover, bee spider flower, skunkweed, wild spinach, and Indian spinach. The Navajo call beeplant, Waa', meaning "the beeweed" (Mayes and Lacy, 12). The Zuni call it, A'pilalu, meaning "hand, many seeds". Hand refers to the shape of the leaf (Kindscher, 1992).

C. serrulata grows below 8000 feet along shores of washes, streams, and ponds. Beeplant also grows along roadsides and basins, usually in coarse or medium soil (Kindscher'. 1992). Beeplant prefers recently disturbed or fertile soils as nutrients are replenished more frequently. An abundance of C. serrulata grew after a flooding of an old Pueblo field near the Rio Grande (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997). Beeplant populations are often influenced by envi

ronmental factors and disturbances.

C. serrulata is found from Saskatchewan, south to Arizona, east to Kansas, and west to Oregon. Within the Four Corners area, beeplant is more commonly found today at Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly but also at Mesa Verde and Hovenweep (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997).

Beeplant remnants have been found in pack rat middens around ruins that no longer support beeplant populations. Betancourt and Davis (1984) suggest "people living in archaic times may have encouraged this plant to grow around their dwelling places" (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997). Richard Yarnell, an anthropologist, recently found supporting archaeological evidence that beeplant was collected in quantity by prehistoric people of the Southwest and had been encouraged as a secondary crop alongside corn by the Hopi (Kindscher, 1992). Some field researchers say that beeplant is often an indicator of ruins and ancient farming plots (Dunmire and Tierney 1995). Even today, beeplant is a welcomed volunteer in cultivated gardens.

Although Rocky Mountain beeplant may have once been cultivated along side other crops, people today harvest the plant mostly through wildcrafting. Wildcrafting requires familiarity with the plant communities in which beeplant grows. Where ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) and Gamble oak (Quercus gambelii) grow, beeplant is found in close association with

verbena (Verbena spp.), coneflower (Ratibida spp.), and prairie sunflower (Helianthus petiolaris). In communities dominated by Colorado pinon (Pinus edulis) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), beeplant grows closely with Texas doveweed (Croton texansis) and white horse nettle (Solanum elaeaganifolium). Lastly, where black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus), spiny saltbush (Atriplex confertifolia), and rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus sp.) occur, Rocky Mountain beeplant is often found with yellow beeplant (Cleome lutea) and annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus) (Mayes and Lacy, 1989).

Cleome lutea, yellow beeplant, is a close relative of Rocky Mountain beeplant. They look very similar except C. lutea flowers are distinctly yellow and not purplish-pink. Cleome lutea has a compound leaf with 5 leaflets whereas C. serrulata usually only has 3 leaflets (C. serrulata may have 3-5 leaflets). C. lutea is used by the Navajo from Kayenta in ceremony and as medicine. The leaves are used with ceremonial tobacco in some chants and the entire plant is used to cure ant bites (Moerman, 1986 ).

In 1935, anthropologist Edward Castetter said " [beeplant is] one of the most important native plants in use by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, having outstanding significance as a food plants even today, although this was obviously more marked before the introduction of some of the culti

vated plants" (Kindscher: 1992). Uses for beeplant continue to be taught to subsequent generations suggesting that beeplant still retains a lot of useful value, even in modern times.

Beeplant has saved the Navajo from starvation more than once and remains one of the few wild foods still used. The above ground portion of beeplant is collected in early summer or late spring when the plants are only about 4 inches tall (Mayes and Lacy, 1989). Beeplant can be collected any time during the summer, though the leaves will taste much more bitter the older they are (Paul Clitso, Kayenta Navajo). The greens are cooked one day or more, drained, and then boiled again to remove the alkali taste (Mayes and Lacy, 1989). They are eaten plain or can be added to meat stew with wild onion and wild celery. Beeplant is also used as a food seasoning (Mayes and Lacy, 1989). Seeds are ground into mush (porridge) or ground with corn to make bread (Mayes and Lacy, 1989).

Mary Boone, a Tuba City Navajo, explained how beeplant could be stored over the winter. Leaves could be collected in the summer, dried, and stored over the winter. Another option is to boil the plant until it becomes a thick and resinous concentrate. Small clumps of the cooked plant are pressed onto wax paper to dry. These beeplant bricks could then be stored in a jar in a much more compressed form. Beeplant in this form is called "guaco". Guaco can be rehydrated and used as greens or fried in grease and eaten.

The Zuni boil the tender leaves with corn (on or off the cob) and highly season the concoction with chili (Kindscher, 1992). The Hopi serve the boiled greens with cornmeal porridge and salt. The basal leaves are eaten with green corn (Kindscher, 1992). The Tewa use the greens much like the Navajo. They store beeplant as guaco and

then fry it when they are ready to eat it.

The leaves provided a good source of calcium, vitamin A, and iron. Ingesting the greens helped to prevent iron deficiency illnesses (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997).

The Navajo use the whole plant, picked before flowering, as a yellow-green wool dye. The plant is boiled until tender, mashed, and then added to the pot with yarn. This mixture ferments one week together. The yarn is then removed and allowed to ferment alone one week before rinsing and drying (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997)

A dye is also made from the concentrated form of beeplant. Pueblo pottery dating back to around 500 AD was decorated with the black dye of reconstituted guaco. The painted designs were applied after the white pot was slipped. The color became softened to dark gray upon firing (Dunmire and Tierney, 1997). This blurred effect is typical of vegetable dyes and can be used to determine if a vegetable was used. Puebloan artists up and down the Rio Grande used beeplant guaco for dying their pottery. Some pueblos also used guaco dye for their baskets. Santa Clara is especially known for their black and red geometries (Dunmire and Tierney, 1995). It has been reported that Cleome serrulata has been used as a yellow-brown dye for coloring deerskin (Saunders, 1990).

The Navajo make fire drills from dried stalks of beeplant (Mayes and Lacy, 1989). A narrow stalk about 1/4 inch thick is turned on the edge of a small notch cut into a larger stick. Sand is put under the drill for friction. Sparks catch in the powder created by the sands' friction.

The Ramah Navajo use a decoction of the seeds for "good blood" and to improve the voice. A cold infusion of the leaves is

used as a body and shoe deodorant (Moerman, 1986). Mayes and Lacy (1989) also documented the use of beeplant in the Nightway ceremony.

Mary Boone from Tuba City talked about how she uses beeplant. A poultice of the above ground plant can be made to cure athletes' feet. A pasty poultice (put in blender) should be used for problematic smelly armpits. In both cases the poultice should be applied and covered and allowed to stay on the affected area for at least a day before rinsing off. At San Ildefonso the warm cooked leaves are used on sores and wounds (Dunmire and Tierney, 1995).

The Tewa use an infusion of the plant to treat stomach disorders and a poultice is used on the abdomen (Moerman, 1986).

The Utah Gosiute make poultice of pounded soaked leaves to help heal sore eyes ( Moerman, 1986).

About the Author: Kirsten Swinski was a student in this summer's Field Studies in Ethnobotany course held at Ft. Lewis College in Durango Colorado. This course was cosponsored by the Baca Institute of Ethnobotany and Ft. Lewis College. Kirsten is an undergraduate student at the University of Florida at Gainsville.

Bibliography

• Dunmire, William W. and Gail D. Tierney. 1997. Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.
  
• Dunmire, William W. and Gail D. Tierney. 1995. Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe.
  
• Kindscher, Kelly. 1992. Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence.
  
• Moerman, Daniel. 1986. Medicinal Plants of the Native Americans. University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology Technical Report, Number 19. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
  
• Mayes, Vernon and Barbara Bayless Lacy. 1986. Nanise: A Navajo Herbal. Navajo Community College Press, Tsaile.
  
• Saunders, Charles F. 1990. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada.
  
• Other References
  
• Paul A. Clitso, Kayenta, Az.
  
• Mary Boone, Tuba City, Az.