Coastal Sage Scrub Area, Ethnobotany:

Black Sage: important ceremonial and medicine plant, used to purify men and weapons before a hunt, esp. if a menstruating woman had touched them; tea for stomach problems

Buckwheat: Leaves used to make tea for headache and stomach disorders, flowers steeped for eye wash. Native Americans ground seeds into a flour like mush.

California Sagebrush: Leaves brewed for tea to relieve menstrual problems, to insure comfortable childbirth, rapid postnatal recovery, alleviate menopausal trauma, flush out system of newborn. Early California miners used it in their beds to drive away fleas, rubbed on body as deodorant.

Ceanothus: Flowers develop a bit of cleansing lather when rubbed. It is thought that the Native Americans smoked its leaves when added to other plant matter.

Coastal Buckwheat: Young shoots and seeds are eaten; stem and leaves are boiled to treat bladder problems.

Giant Wild Rye: Indians gathered and ground seeds to make meal. Flowers used in dry flower arrangements