This important plant has a long history of use and cultivation by many Native American tribes. The calorie-rich seeds are a versatile food. They can be eaten raw or roasted, combined with other ingredients to form cakes or boiled to release an oil for cooking. The shells can be roasted to make a coffee substitute.
Reprinted with permission from Edible Plants: A Photographic Survey of the Wild Edible Botanicals of North America (Red Lightning Books, 2021) by Phoenix artist Jimmy W. Fike.
