Note 256 — LEGENDS. (continued 5)

There are several plants in New Mexico and Arizona which become tumble-weeds in the autumn, but the particular weed referred to here is the Amarantus albus. It is called tlotáhi nagĭ′si, or rolling tlotáhi, by the Navahoes. Tlotáhi is a name applied in common to several species of the Amarantaceæ and allied Chenopodiacæ. (See “Navaho Names for Plants.”312) The seeds of plants of these families formerly constituted an important part of the diet of the Navahoes, and they still eat them to some extent.