Paleo Foraging

Euphorbia marginata Pursh

= Agaloma marginata, Dichrophyllum marginatum, Lepadena marginata

Snow-on-the-mountain, ghostweed

Lakota: itopta sapa tapežuta – “black-footed ferret medicine” (Munson 1981:234)

Pawnee: kalipika tsitsiks (tsitsiks – “poison”) (Gilmore 1977:47)

Location in Texas: C, SE, N, & W TX; common in Travis Co.

Form: herb; annual.

Food

Leaves – were chewed by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939).

Sap – a chewing gum derived from this species was used by the Kiowa (Vestal and Schultes 1939).

Roots – were chewed by Kiowa women and then mixed with corn meal (Vestal and Schultes 1939).

Medicine

Leaves – crushed in warm water to use as a liniment for swellings by the Lakota (Munson 1981:234).

Experimentation

I have chewed up and swallowed all the leaves of one small plant. They were not bitter or significantly objectionable in flavor. I had no ill effects. The leaves were thick but not tough or fibrous. The sap also does not have a bad taste.

Note that many Euphorbia species are highly toxic, and the milky latex of some can even cause severe contact dermatitis.