buckwheat
Polygonaceae [Buckwheat Family]
Eriogonum spp (?)
Other: food preservative? Ferdinand Hayden says the plant of this name is “a species of Eriogonum, growing on the gravelly hills; word derived from <bi>, a cow, and <ci-hin>, smoke, buffalo smoke, a weed used for smoking meat.” The second morpheme cited by Hayden is not readily identifiable, though bii(s) does mean 'buffalo cow.' Eriogonum annuum was used by several tribes (Kiowa, Lakota) for treating hides, and perhaps this is what Hayden is referring to, as smoking of meat is otherwise unreported for the Arapaho.