Food Use of Wild Plants by Cherokee Indians

Wild plants have long been a component of the diet of the Cherokee Indians. In this study, traditional knowledge of edible wild plants as a food source has been shown to exist in present day Cherokee society and the use of and beliefs about wild plants and other natural resource foods have been documented from accounts on the historic Cherokee.

It was noted that knowledge of wild plants may be passed from one generation to another by word of mouth. Attitudeds and beliefs toward teh consumption of wild plants affected the use of this knowledge.

The active collection of data pertained to present day food use of wild plants by Cherokee Indians. Data pertaining to plant identification, season of procurement, and perparation and preservation methods were collected with use of an interview schedule.

There were 78 plants positively identified by the informants of this study. Season of availability governed the food use of the wild plants. Preservation methods were found to extend or eliminate this seasonal availability.

Some wild plant preparation and preservation methods could be grouped into standardized form. Standard preparations methods existed for some greens and the fruit juices. Mixing or combinations of greens was noted to be prevalent; season of availability and flavor being the main determinants of the plants utilized. Present day use was made of canning and drying as preservation methods for the wild plants of this study. Freezing was noted as a little used preservation method of the wild plants of this study.