Native Americans made an infusion of the leaves and applied it as a poultice to bruises and insect bites. The Kawaiisu made arrows from the long straight limbs and also burned the plant to a black powder and mixed it with another ingredient to make gun powder. It was also used in shelter construction and as a survival food when starvation was threatening. Its common name comes from the prospectors who used to tie their mules to the branches - the mules would eat the plant and become fat from it.

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