Nutritive Values of Native Foods of Warm Springs Indians: Parsley

Canby's Desert Parsley, Lomatium canbyi Coult.& Rose

"CANBY''S DESERT PARSLEY (Lomatium canbyi Coult.& Rose) Indian "Luskh," pronounced looksh

The luksh variety of biscuit root belongs to the parsley family as does coush (cous) and grows in the same places. It too is dug after the seeds are formed. It may be cooked fresh as a vegetable or dried after peeling. The roots are spread out to dry, usually in the sun, and then stored in cedar root baskets. The dried product may be cooked whole or it may be pounded into a meal which is used in various ways, such as in the preparation of a mush or pudding. Luksh may be peeled, ground immediately, and while still moist formed into small patties which are pressed with the thumb or three fingers that show as prints in the little cakes. These are then dried in the sun and known as "three-finger" or "palm" cakes, luksh-me. The illustration shows palm cakes made from luksh or from saw-wickt. Occasionally some salt and sugar are added to the mixture. The cakes are used for "snack items" and are very popular with hunters. The vitamin C content of fresh or frozen luksh is higher than that of "coush." A one-cup serving provides about half the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin C. However, the dried products have lost all their vitamin C value. The value decreases in the frozen product over long periods of storage and is lost completely so far as the dried product is concerned. Coush contains amounts of iron that may make significant contributions to the diet. One cup provides about one-third the Recommended Dietary Allowance for a man and about one-fifth the allowance for a woman.

"LUKSHE-ME" and "SAW-WICKT-ME"(dried patties made of Luksh or of Saw-wickt)

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