Food: Berries were eaten fresh, roasted, or boiled. After boiling, the berries were baked in an earthen oven for 2 or 3 days.

Berries were also made into a refreshing drink.

Medicinal: Bark and leaves used as a tea for stomach pains and for other body pains as well as a seasonal tonic.

Pulverized flowers were steeped as a tea for gynecological problems.

Mashed leaves were applied to sores. An infusion of bark and leaves was used to wash infected wounds.

Construction: Ashuwet wood was used for arrows, tools (awls, wedges and scrapers) and for cooking implements (spoons, mashers, and stirrers). Men's hairpins were made of Ashuwet and flicker feathers tied to the ends.

Dye: Berries were simmered and crushed for a dye. The bark was used to dye fish nets.

Hollywood , California derives its name from the holly-like appearance of Toyon's foliage and fruits.

Warning: eating the fresh fruit can produce cramps. Better to eat them dried or cooked.

Evergreen shrub.

Berries are produced between September and February.

Toyon can be found on semidry, brushy slopes and in canyons below 4000 ft, Chaparral.