Table Of ContentEthnobiol. 11(1):93-114
/.
AND
USE NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION OF
SOME MOUNTAIN
TRADITIONAL PIMA PLANT FOODS
JOSEPH LAFERRIERE
E.
Department and
Ecology Evolutionary Biology
of
CHARLES WEBER
W.
and
EDWIN KOHLHEPP
A.
Department and Food
Nutrition Science
of
University Arizona
of
AZ
Tucson, 85721
ABSTRACT.—
Foods consumed by Mountain Pima
of plant origin traditionally the
of Chihuahua, and
Mexico, were analyzed proximate mineral content. Fruits
for
and
immature and
cladodes of Opuntia O. durangensis, O. macrorhiza;
robusta,
fruits of Arctostaphylos pungens, Arbutus xalapensis, Berberis pimana, Prunus persica,
P. and tubers
serotina var. virens, P. gentryi; roots of Prionosciadium townsendii;
of
Dahlia coccinea; bulbs of Hymenocallis pimana; inflorescences of Tillandsia
erubescens; and leaf bases and immature flowering stalks of Agave shrevei were
analyzed Cu, Zn, Ca, and Mg.
for lipid, protein, ash, carbohydrate, Fe,
fiber,
Mineral was and shoots
content determined Solanum diphyllum for
for fruits of
of three native condiments, Monarda austromontana, Hedeoma patens, and Teloxys
We
ambrosioides. also describe native uses of these foods, as well as of Physalis
spp., Chenopodium
Echinocereus spp., Mammillaria spp., Amaranthus spp., lepto-
Rhus
phyllum, Yucca spp.,
Portulaca oleracea, Passiflora spp., Lonicera cerviculata,
trilobata, Pinus discolor, Cyperus esculentus, Allium spp., Begonia gracilis, Oxalis spp.,
pima
RESUMEN.-Alimentos usados por los
de origen vegetal tradirionalmente
proximos
montanes
de Chihuahua, por sus contenidos y
Mexico, se analisieron
O
minerales. Frutas y cladodes juveniles de Opuntia robusta, O. durangensis, y
pimana
macrorhiza; Arbutus xalapensis, Berberis
frutas de Arctostaphylos pungens,
town
Prunus rakes de Prionosciadium
persica, P. serotina var. virens, y P. gentryi;
inflorescen-
pimana;
sendii; tuberculos de bulbos de Hymenocallis
Dahlia
coccinea;
de Agave shrevei
cias de jovenes
Tillandsia erubescens; bases de hojas y guiotes
Cu, Zn, Ca,
se
analysieron por carbohidrato, Fe,
grasa, proterna, fibra, ceniza,
Mg. de Solanum diphyllum y
y Composition mineral se determine de las frutas
de Teloxys
Hedeoma
tres condimentos Monarda austromontana, patens, y
indigenas,
de
comidas
de
ambrosioides. Describimos tambien traditional estas y
utilisation
la
Chenopodium
Physalis Amaranthus spp.,
spp., Echinocereus Mammillaria spp.,
spp.,
Yucca spp.,
leptophyllum,
Lonicera cerviculata,
Portulaca spp.,
oleracea, Passiflora
Rhus
Begonia gracilis,
Allium spp.,
trilobata, Pinus Cyperus esculentus,
discolor,
Oxalis
spp., y Capsicum annuum
var. aviculare.
RESUME.—
Quelques traditionamment consumers par
aliments d'origine plantale
pima montagneux de Chihuahua, Mexique, se sont analyzes pour sa com-
les
position proximale et minerale. Les fruits et les cladodes juveniles d'Opuntia
robusta, O. dumngensis, et O. tnacrorhiza; les fruits d'Arctostaphylos pungens, Arbutus
xalapensis, Berberis pimana, Prunus persica, P. serotina var. virens, etP. gentryi; les
racines de Prionosciadium townsendii; les tubercules de Dahlia coccinea; les bulbes
de Hymenocallis pimana; les inflorescences de Tillandsia erubescens; et les bases de
de Agave sont analyzes
feuilles et les tiges juveniles l'inflorescence d' shrevei se
pour le gras, la proteine, la fibre, la cendre, les carbohydrates, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ca,
Mg. Le content mineral determine pour de Solarium diphyllum,
et s'est les fruits
et pour trois condiments traditionels, Monarda austromontana, Hedeoma patens, et
Nous
Teloxys ambrosioides. descrivons aussi l'utilisation traditionelle de ces aliments
et celle de Physalis spp., Echinocereus spp., Mammillaria spp., Amaranthus spp.,
Chenopodium
leptophyllum, Portulaca oleracea, Passiflora spp., Lonicera cerviculata,
Yucca spp., Rhus trilobata, Pinus discolor, Cyperus esculentus, Allium spp., Begonia
annuum
gracilis, Oxalis spp., et Capsicum var. aviculare.
INTRODUCTION
The Mountain Pima
utilize several noncultivated plants and animals for food,
On
weight
fiber, building materials, medicine, and several other uses. a percent
basis, noncultivated edible plants constitute only a small portion of the total diet,
Many
but importance than would suggest.
their far greater small percentage
is this
and minerals,
of the wild plant foods represent important sources vitamins
of
A
especially vitamins and C. Such resources represent important sources of these
ah
nutrients for the neighboring Tarahumara (Connor Cerqueira et
ah 1978,
et
Wild become the year.
1979). plants extremely important during certain seasons of
Most them when maize
of are available in summer, stores of the previous year's
and bean
harvests are running low.
may during
Noncultivated resources on an added importance
also take
non-
droughts and other crop Dunnigan reported that use of
failures.
(1983)
among adver-
cultivated resources increases the Mountain Pima during times of
the
sity, as has been demonstrated for other traditional peoples in other parts of
dependence
Some
world
(Grivetti 1979). of the people acknowledge this increased
years.
on past
wild resources, while others deny crop occurred in
that failures
and
Today, the Pima respond crop by working wage laborers sell-
to failures as
This,
ing livestock, as well as by increasing use noncultivated resources.
their of
importance
plus the availability of commercially produced food, has lessened the
eliminated it
of non-cultivated resources under such circumstances but has not
of
bulbs
(Dunnigan Some
1970). of the less-preferred plant resources, e.g.
past
the
Hymenocallis pimana Lafer. (Amaryllidaceae), played an important role in
as famine foods
(Laferriere 1989a).
strad-
The region
Mountain Pima Madre the
live in the Sierra Occidental in
They
Mexico.
dling the boundary between Chihuahua and Sonora,
the States of
Arizona
are Pima and Tohono O'odham (Papago) of
linguistically related the
to
subsistence
and and
lowland Sonora. The people engage animal husbandry
in
maize,
and and planting
agriculture, raising cattle, goats, pigs, chickens, turkeys,
JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY
beans, squash, and
potatoes, other crops (Dunnigan and
1970, 1983; Laferriere
Van AsdaU
The
predominant
1991a).
natural vegetation of the area pine/oak
is
A
few
forest. other species of trees are present in the vicinity. Madrono (Arbutus
xalapensis H.B.K. and A. Gray) common
arizonicus (A.
Sarg., Ericaceae)
in
is
forested areas, while ahuasiqui
(Prunus gentry Standi., Rosaceae), capulfn
(P.
i
&
serotina Ehrh. ssp. virens (Woot. McVaugh and
Standi.) palo
var. uirens), prieto
(Ilex tolucana Hemsl.,
Aquifoliaceae) are frequent along riverbanks. Sabino
(Cupressus
arizonica E. Greene, Cupressaceae) forms thick shaded stands in moister
canyons, and
few
there are a small groves of haya (Acer grandidentatum Nutt.,
Aceraceae) near
larger
rivers.
Several
of the wild plant foods by Mountain Pima have never
the
utilized
been
analyzed
for nutritional content, and two have been described botanically
only
recently (Laferriere 1990a; Laferriere and Marroquin 1990). The present study
was
undertaken
and non-
to ascertain the nutritional value of certain cultivated
We
cultivated
plant more Mountain Pima
foods. analyzed important
several of the
plant foods Some
for proximate and mineral composition. of the smaller, less
important
items were not included because obtaining
of difficulty in sufficiently
large
quantities of material. Quelites, or wild edible greens, were not analyzed
since
several existing publications already describe their nutritional value (Bye
1981; Cerqueira Connor Maytowitz and
Franke
et 1979; 1978; 1985;
al. et
al.
Matthews
diphyllum
1984). Sufficient quantities of naranjilla berries (Solarium
L-, Solanaceae) were
obtained mineral but not proximate analysis.
for
AND
METHODS
MATERIALS
Ethnographic
information was obtained by JEL through participant observa-
tion and by
interviews with Nabogame, Yepachi, and Las Varitas,
residents of
Chihuahua. and
Fieldwork months between October 1986
lasted a of 13
total
November
from of
1988. Samples for analysis were collected the vicinity
Nabogame,
Municipio Temosachi, Chihuahua, 28°30'N, 108°30'W, elevation 1800
meters. The km
commercial center
site located approximately 18 northwest of the
is
of Yepachi and km should not be
10 Sonoran This village
east of the frontier.
confused name
with the larger Tepehuan community of the same farther south
in Chihuahua.
Each from
sample plants
individual
represented conglomerate of several
a
the same
general Most samples were sun-dried (Kuhnlein 1986) for ship-
vicinity.
ment
kachana
to Tucson. while tubers of
Leafy was indoors,
material air-dried
(Dahlia (Agave
coccinea Cav., and flowering stalks of chugilla
Asteraceae), leaves
shrevei Gentry Hymenocallis pimana,
bulbs of
ssp. matapensis Gentry, Agavaceae),
and
and
pimama
fruits of Arbutus were transported fresh. Bulbs of H.
xalapewsis
were
leaf bases Prunus spp.
of A. were Fruits of
shrevei peeled before analysis.
Pitted complete with seeds
before were analyzed
drying,
but those of other fruits
because how were
and cladodes (pads)
this is they are consumed. Opuntia fruits
d
espined and Vouchers on deposit
washed Mountain Pima manner. are
the
in
ARIZ
a
and MEXU.
*
Upon were weighed and They were
the laboratory items frozen.
arrival at all
powder
then lyophilized, weighed, and ground into a using a blender and/or
Wiley The ground samples were placed bags and stored in a freezer
in plastic
mill.
analyzed.
until
The drying
Samples were analyzed necessity of
in triplicate. logistical
most
specimens for transport precluded accurate moisture figures for of the
AOAC
samples. and ash were determined by methods. Crude
Protein, (1980)
fat,
Van
was determined by the Acid Detergent Fiber method of Soest (1963).
fiber
Carbohydrate content was calculated by subtracting from 100 the difference of
by
moisture, protein, and ash. The energy values were calculated multi-
fat,
gram and by
plying the grams of carbohydrate and protein by 4 kcal per the fat
gram were determined
9 kcal per (National Research Council, Minerals
1980).
AOAC
were
by wet ashing using the method. Acid digested samples
(1980)
made were run
quantitatively transferred and up to a given volume. Minerals
by Mineral stan-
flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (Hitachi, 180-70).
dards were prepared on from atomic absorption standard
a daily basis certified
were
curves
solutions (Fisher Linear regression of the standard
Scientific, NJ).
5%
unknown within
determined running samples and had an accuracy of
after 10
masked
runs and 10% between The magnesium and samples were
runs. calcium
was
1% Phosphorus
with lanthanum (Deeming and Weber,
a concentration
1977).
was
determined by the method of Koenig and Johnson All glassware acid-
(1942).
HNO3
washed 50% water.
and deionized
in rinsed three times
in distilled
AND
RESULTS DISCUSSION
mineral
Results of proximate analysis are given in Table 1 while results of
agree
analyses are presented Table The our analyses
in results of nutritional
2.
been
in large part with previous which have previously
studies, for those plants
with
agree
analyzed. Values for the two cultivated species, squash and peaches,
Matthews
values published by Gebhardtef and Haytowitz and (1984).
(1984)
al.
did
as
Subterranean organs showed amounts carbohydrates,
generally large of
the
than
Agave much
shrevei. Fruits analyzed with seeds proved higher in fiber
chemical
pitted fruits oiPrunus spp. The four taxa oiOpuntia varied considerably in
magnesium.
and
content, although were high
carbohydrate, calcium,
in
all fiber,
Poaceae),
Major mays
Cultivated crops.— cultivated crops include maize (Zea L.,
Cucurbitaceae),
beans
(Phaseolus vulgaris Fabaceae), squash (Cucurbita pepo L.,
L.,
and
(Laferriere
potatoes and
(Solatium tuberosum peaches (Prunus persica L.)
L.),
Van strips,
Asdall The Mountain Pima seeded squash into
1991a). cut peeled,
& Van Asdall
wind
the strips into coils and sun-dry them for winter use (Laferriere
(Bennett
manner
The
1991a). Navajo and Tarahumara dry squash in a similar
and
Zingg
1935; Vestal
1952).
are
peaches
The Green
Mountain Pima and
use peaches both green ripe.
higher
peaches are
stewed Green
with sugar them.
or roasted in the to soften
fire
and
lower
in fiber carbohydrate than (Table
in ripe fruits
1).
JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY
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JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY
and
—Fruits
Cacti. cladodes (pads) of Opuntia spp. (Cactaceae) have been widely
New
much
utilized as food sources in of the World (Meyer and McLaughlin
1981;
and
Russell Felker
1987). Six folk taxa of prickly pear (Opuntia spp.) are recog-
by Pima Nabogame
nized
the of (Fig. These include the cultivated nopal de
1).
and
Castilla (O. ficus-indica (L.) Miller) five wild taxa, nopal temporal (purple-
i.e.
fruited individuals of O. Wendl.), tuna noviembrena
robusta (red-fruited O.
cf.
nopal de
cf. robusta), zorra (O. macrorhiza Engelm.), duraznillo bianco (yellow-
cf.
&
fruited O. durangensis Britton Rose), and duraznillo Colorado (red-fruited O.
durangensis)
The
cladodes are especially important during the spring dry season since they
one
are of the first noncultivated resources to become available in the year.
Cladodes much
of all six taxa are used in the same manner. Nopal temporal is
most
the
important, producing the cladodes and growing abundantly in
largest
any nonplowed
virtually Tuna noviembrena very but has red rather
similar,
site. is
than
purple fruits which mature October or November rather than August.
in
Nopal
de
zorra a small recumbent species producing narrow obconical fruits.
is
The
immature toward
cladodes of both these species have an orange especially
tint,
the
distal edge. Duraznillo general appearance, being
strikingly different in
is
a darker shade of green and having smaller cladodes bearing shorter but more
numerous
spines while lacking the reddish Nopal de Castilla planted in
is
tint.
few
a kitchen gardens, and valued and absence of spines.
for large size
is its
mouth done toward
of the ingested (Georgi 1982). Scraping the
if et al. is first
end removing then
of the cladode, the majority of the spines, reversing
distal
remove Water
the scraping direction to the remainder. periodically flushed over
is
A
the cladode to clean away the loosened spines. few of the cladodes are eaten
raw, but the majority are chopped and fried in lard with onions and/or garlic.
The cladodes are cut by holding them vertically in the left hand and making parallel
downward
toward followed by perpendicular
the base, further to
slits slits
the
first.
The Mountain Pima consume fruits or "tunas" of local taxa of Opuntia.
all
The fruits ripen in August and September except for those of tuna noviembrefia
which mature October November. Those nopal de and nopal
in or of Castilla
much
temporal are preferred, since they are larger than the fruits of the other
and
two The removed
species. spines of both species are using cuts parallel to
just below the skin. Fruits of nopal de zorra are too juicy for this method, since
the interior of the fruit consists primarily of mucilaginous endocarp; hence the
juicy area is generally scraped out with a knife. The fruits of duraznillo are the
and seldom
smallest driest of the four species in the community. These are utilized,
but are treated like those of nopal temporal.
All cladodes in our study proved higher carbohydrate and lower in ash
in
and
than
protein the values reported for cladodes of the cultivated O. ficus-indica
can vary
(Feitosa-Teles 1977; Feitosa-Teles Cladode composition
et al. 1984).
on
depending on a
degree of maturity; protein, contents tend to decrease
fiber
and
percent weight basis as the cladode matures, while carotene
starch, lipid,
free sugar increase (Retamal Rodriguez-Felix and Cantwell 1988).
et 1987;
al.
may
The cladodes have vary
a very high calcium content, although this
somewhat The high
according to soil content (Nobel 1987; Gonzalez 1989).
et
al.
calcium values of Opuntia cladodes due accumulation
are largely to the plants'
Up may be
of insoluble calcium 85% some in
oxalate. to of the calcium cacti
in
may
form
the of calcium oxalate (Trachtenberg and Mayer This constitute
1982b).
much 21%
as as of the dry weight of the cladodes (Rodriguez-Mejia 1985).
et al.
Opuntia plumbea Rose contains 1.5% oxalate content by fresh weight Justice 1985).
much
This makes human The calcium
of the calcium consumption.
unavailable
for
bound calcium
present in the cladodes shifts on a diurnal basis from being as
This
oxalate to being bound to the mucilage (Trachtenberg and Mayer 1982a,b).
pH
Metabolism
is as a result of the cycles characteristic of Crassulacean Acid
common amount of
to most (Trachtenberg and Mayer Hence the
cacti 1982a,b).
may
calcium
available for digestion vary accoring the time of day.
to
somewhat
The may
quantity of carbohydrate be also
available for utilization
lower than our Some which a signifi-
figures indicate. of the mucilage constitutes
fraction
cant proportion of the carbohydrate fraction digestible, but a sizeable
is
The Opuntia to
is not. proportion of digestible matter varies from one species of
reported
another (McGarvie and The hypoglycemic
effect
Parolis 1979b,
1981).
may
for Opuntia cladodes (Ibanez-Camacho Frati-Munari 1987)
1983; et al.
et al.
any
than
be due an
to inhibition of the absorption of simple carbohydrates rather
on
direct effect insulin production (Frati-Munari
1988).
et
al.
Craig,
M.
Fruits of cholla (Mammillaria barbata Engelm., sonorensis
cf.
sheen
E.
Echinocereus W.T. Marshall (Marsh.) N.P. Taylor,
stoloniferus ssp. tayopensis
JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY
(Salm-Dyck) Rumpler
andE.
var. polyacanthus Engelm.
sheeri, var. polyacanthus,
raw when
Cactaceae)
all are also eaten mature in late summer, but are small and
comparatively
rare. Echinocereus fruits possess sharp spines which adversely
affect their utilization. Fruits of other species of Mammillaria and have
Echinocereus
been consumed
reported by the Navajo, and Tarahumara (Elmore
Seri, 1943;
Vestal 1952; Felger and Moser and by Pima Arizona
1985), the of (Curtin 1949).
Stems
of several species of Mammillaria have consumed food (Robbins
also as
Some
et al. 1916; Vestal 1952). of the latex-containing species, however, have been
used
as hallucinogens (Bye 1979). Fruits of E. coccineus Engelm. are reportedly
poisonous and
used by
Navajo Stems
the as a heart stimulant (Elmore 1943). of
certain
species of Echinocereus have been used as hallucinogens (Bye 1979; Fer-
ngnief
make
although stems have been used candy
al. 1982), of other species to
(Nobel
1988).
—
Agave.
Chugilla (Agave Mountain Pima with two food items
supplies the
shrevei)
plus a potent
piscicide. Immature flowering or "guiotes" are harvested
stalks
May
in and They and chewed upon
June. are roasted the peeled, to
in
fire,
extract the juicy interior. The fibrous material which constitutes a large fraction
of the
stalk material then
spit out.
is
Leaves
of Agave compounds which
shrevei contain several inhibit their utiliza-
tion as food by
sources. These leaves are used raw as fish stupification plants
the Mountain
Pima and Tarahumara Dunnigan Bennett
the (Byeet 1975; 1970;
al.
and
Zingg
1935; Gentry The plants contain several different saponins,
1982).
primarily
hecogonin and manogenin, but no flavones or tannins (Hegnauer 1963,
1986; List and Horhammer Dominguez The saponins present
1972; 1960).
et
al.
in the leaves and make washing (Sheldon
clothes
rootstocks these tissues useful for
1980). Extracts horn Agave sap the nervous system and produce diarrhea
affect
when
injected Sap torn Agave leaves
into laboratory animals (Jones 1932).
et al.
also
kills snails and inhibits the growth of fungi (Shoeb et al. 1986; de Cassia-
Salomao
and
and (Davidson
Purchio and has been used as an antiseptic
1982)
Ortiz de An compound many including
Montellano
species,
unidentified in
1983).
A.
shrevei, causes
dermatitis (Gentry
1982).
Leaves commonly been roasted
however,
of various species of Agave have,
and
consumed
genus (Gentry Castet-
1982;
as food throughout the range of the
ter et The Mountain Pima use the white leaf
al. 1938; Ebeling
Mitich
1986; 1976).
them
bases and
of A. by them peeling them, eating
shrevei roasting large
in pits,
(Fig. The leaving a rather
7). roasting destroy most of the saponins,
is sufficient to
sweet, and can often
juicy but The are rather large
fibrous mass. roasting pits
somewhat
be
seen reported
still
years Kovacevic (1963)
after their utilization. etal.
higher from cooked
protein values leaf
(3.64% dry weight) and lower ash (5.76%)
A
mesoderm some
nutrients
may of
of the digestibility
americana Roasting
alter
L.
as
well
as lower
the saponin
content.
Other although
wild
fruits.—The other fruits,
Mountain Pima several
also utilize
none The most
common
the
is enough make contribution to diet.
to a significant
banks
important which grows along the
of these
ahuasiqui (Prunus gentryi),
is
Two
some
of
and folk species
of the The mature June July.
larger creeks. in
fruits
and
are recognized, the purple-fruited ahuasiqui negro gentryi gentryi) the
(P. f
.
yellow-to-scarlet-colored ahuasiqui bianco (P. gentryi f flavipulpa) (Fig. 2) (Lafer-
.
riere 1989b). The latter considered less astringent than the former. Capulin
is
(Prunus serotina var. mens) (Fig. 3) is also present in similar habitats, but is
underutilized because of astringent taste. Parra (Vitis arizonica Engelm.,
its
t
*!
5
r
P!
FIG. 3.—
Fruiting branches
of capulin (Prunus serotina var. virens).
