English
cactus
Scientific Name
Cactaceae [Cactus Family]
Cactaceae spp. in general
Arapaho
Cactus and the Arapaho
Lophophora williamsii [Peyote, Mescal Button]
Drug: ceremonial medicine. This plant is widely used in the Peyote Ceremony.
Drug: panacea. Inez Hilger reported in 1952 that this plant was used not just in the Peyote Ceremony, but as a universal cure-all in Oklahoma at the time of her research, but much less by the Northern Arapaho in Wyoming. It was used in poultices, decoctions, and also nibbled and chewed.
Opuntia spp [Prickly Pear]
Food: fruit. The fruits of these cactus were eaten. Alfred Kroeber reports the use of both the spines and the “red edible fruit” as decorative motifs in beadwork.
Prickly Pear cactus