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Poisons & Living off the SW Land

Poisons

  • Curare

    • Derived from Strychnos toxifera & Chondrodendron tomentosum. Strychnos toxifera

    • Origin: South America.

    • Acts as a nerve toxin.

    • Used by native Amazonians for hunting with poison arrows.

    • Richard Shultes sought Curare and Rubber in the Amazon during WWII.

    • Muscle relaxant, valuable in early surgery alongside anesthesia.

Tropane Alkaloids

  • Examples: Atropine, hyoscyamine, scopolamine.

    • Highly toxic, leading to coma and respiratory arrest.
      Brugmansia aurea (scopolamine), also known as:

    • Golden trumpets.

    • Borrachero tree.

    • Devil’s Breath.

    • All plant parts are toxic.

    • Solanaceae Poisons: Jimsonweed, Locoweed (Datura spp.).

Backyard and Campus Dangers

  • Oleander (Nerium oleander)

    • Found in yards, including UTEP.

    • Contains 50+ toxic compounds, including cardioactive glycosides.

    • Dangerous for children; smoke from burning can be lethal.

  • Rhododendron & Azalea (Ericaceae)

    • Used in landscaping.

    • Contain grayanotoxins (terpenes) that block nervous regulation of the heart.

    • Toxins can be present in honey made from these plants.

  • Mountain Laurel, Mescal Bean (Dermatophyllum secundiflorum)

    • Contains Citisine, a psychoactive alkaloid similar to nicotine.

    • Used by native peoples in rituals for hallucinatory effects.

    • Dosage requires caution due to risk of respiratory system paralysis.

  • Castor Bean (Ricinus communis)

    • Contains ricin, a toxic protein in the seed that inhibits protein synthesis.

    • Causes a painful death: vomiting, hemorrhaging, seizure and liver failure.

    • One seed can kill a child, three seeds can kill an adult.

Southwest Inhabitants

  • Native American tribes occupied the southwest for around 13,000 years.

    • First ancestors came across the Bering Land Bridge between 35,000-16,500 years ago.

  • Nomads and Settlers formed Pueblos, adapting to the harsh environment.

Southwest Cultures

  • Groups: Apache, Comanche, Navajo, and Pueblo.

    • Pueblo people: settlers; cultivated crops.

    • Apache, Comanche, Navajo: nomadic; hunted, gathered plants, raided Pueblo villages.

Early North America

  • Early societies existed in North America before European exploration.

    • Pueblo tribes were early farmers in the Southwest.

    • Farming started around 7,000 years ago.

    • Cultivated maize (corn), beans, and squash (from Mexican Center).

    • Developed irrigation methods.

    • Villages were abandoned around 1300 AD, likely due to prolonged drought.

Native American Beliefs

  • Beliefs about religion and land ownership linked to nature.

    • Spiritual forces in plants and animals.

    • Individual ownership limited to crops.

    • Land for communal use.

    • Importance of preserving land for future generations.

Native American Plant Use

  • Knowledge of native plants shared and passed down.

    • Uses: food, medicine, religious ceremony, building.

    • Three major food crops (Three sisters): corn (maize), beans, squash.

    • Cactus, Mesquite, Agave, Yucca, Creosote: important in southwest culture.

New World Plants

  • Examples:

    • Rubber

    • Chocolate

    • Beans

    • Tobacco

    • Cotton

    • Pecans

    • Sunflower

    • Sugar Maple

    • Squash

  • Americas: a center for plant domestication.

Three Sisters Garden

  • Corn, Beans, and Squash

    • Corn: Plant four to six corn seeds in mounds spaced two feet apart.

    • Beans: When corn is four inches high, plant four bean seeds around each stem.

    • Squash: Plant squash, pumpkin, or zucchini near every four to six corn mounds.

Mexico - Milpas

  • Traditional garden system.

    • Corn, Beans, Squash/Potato and Chilis.

    • Major diversity of corn varieties from Chihuahua to Central America.

Squash (Cucurbita)

  • Developed through different varieties from five species.
    Cucurbita moschata: butternut, calabazas, etc.
    Cucurbita pepo: zucchini, summer squash, yellow squash, pumpkin, etc.
    Cucurbita maxima: winter squash.

Beans (Fabaceae - Phaseolus)

  • Two species:

    • Tepary Beans (Phaseolus acutifolius): drought-tolerant, in the southwest.

    • Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris): kidney, pinto, etc.

    • Origin: the Americas, 5000-9000 years ago.

Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)

  • Native Southwest all-purpose plant, cultivated, not domesticated.

    • Pods and beans ground to a coarse meal, water added, eaten as mush or fermented..

    • Raw beans ground into flour for flatbread or pancake.

    • Pinole: fine mesquite bean flour mixed with mustard, chia, or other seeds.

Mesquite Wood

  • Used for:

    • Wooden mortars from mesquite logs.

    • Poles for house construction.

    • Furniture (stools).

    • Fuel - burns long and slow; charcoal.

Mesquite Qualities

  • Resilient in the Southwest

    • Deep root system

    • Nitrogen-fixing

    • Thrives in hot climates

    • Pods as food source

      • Ripen before summer rains

      • High yields

      • Do not split open

      • Predictable harvest

      • Production increases with age

Cactus Use

  • Purposes: Food, medicine, religious ceremony, building, water.

    • Fruits like Opuntia harvested (prickly pear, tuna).

      • Sweet, eaten raw, made into jellies and syrup.

      • High in vitamin C, low in fat, high in sugars.

Nopalitos - Opuntia spp.

  • Young pads that grow in the spring; soft, without hardened spines.

    • Eaten throughout the SW USA and Mexico.

Religious Rituals - Hallucinogenic Alkaloids

  • Ariocarpus fissuratus (living rock) - chemicals like peyote.

  • Mammillaria craigii - eaten by shaman to locate witches.

  • Epithelantha micromeris - ingested by shaman for clearer vision to see sorcerers.

Century Plants (Agave spp.)

  • "Mescal bread" from plant stem, mashed, dried, used for long trips mixed with corn.

    • Young flower stalks roasted and eaten, taste like squash.

    • Cooked unopened flowers (boiled, fried, tortillas) after washing.

Century Plants (Agave spp.)

  • Baked mescal hearts (pit BBQ).

    • Harvested before flowering stalk elongation.

    • Outer leaves trimmed, cooked in a pit with hot rocks for 2+ nights.

  • Eaten with a corn drink or gruel, or ground into tortilla dough.

Century Plants (Agave spp.)

  • Maguey wine (Mescal).

    • Baked stalks in water with bean root for fermentation, then distilled.

  • Nectar gathered for consumption (rich in sugars and amino acids).

  • Fibers used to make lassos and rope.

  • Soap made from species rich in sapogenin and smilagenin for washing.

Sotol (Dasylirion spp.)

  • Similar use to Agave.

    • Food use dates back to 7000-9000 yrs. BP in Texas and Mexico.

  • Fibers in human coprolites.

  • Alcohol: Sweet hearts fermented for an alcoholic drink.

  • Leaf Uses: Baskets, mats, sandals, and fibers for cordage.

Yucca of the Southwest

  • Soaptree Yucca (Yucca elata).

    • Saponins used for soap.

    • Medicinal Uses: Roots and leaves contain steroidal compounds that relieve inflammation (arthritis).

    • Roots boiled for tea to flush kidneys and liver.

Creosote Bush (Larrea tridentata)

  • Antioxidant nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA)

  • Southwest Folk Medicine:

    • Leaves steeped for bowel complaints.

    • Gum chewed as anti-dysenteric.

    • Leaves steeped as emetic.

    • Feet placed in creosote fire or women lie on creosote branches for cramps or childbirth.

    • Used to treat rheumatism.

Plants and People of the Southwest

  • Native Americans adapted to the desert, utilizing available resources.

  • Cultivation of great food crops: corn, beans, squash.

  • Plants for food, medicine, religious ritual, building.

  • Important uncultivated plants: Mesquite, Cactus, Agave and Yucca.