Black bean / Frijol negro

"Daban una ración buena, aunque siempre era lo mismo; arroz con frijoles negros, blancos o de carita y tasajo." (46)

"They gave a good-sized portion though it was always the same — rice and black beans, white beans or black eyed peas and beef jerky." (63)

Cayenne / Ají guaguao

"Se le daba pimienta de guinea, ajo y ají guaguao, la cabeza de un muerto y una canilla tapada con un paño negro." (98)

"The offerings were Guinea pepper, garlic, and guaguao peppers, a dead man's skull, and a shin bone wrapped in a black cloth." (124)

***

"La comida la ordena el dueño de la prenda, que es quien pone los resguardos. Casi siempre se alimentan de ajo y ají guaguao." (100)

"The food is selected by the owner of the prenda, who is the one who makes the charm. They are almost always fed with garlic and guaguao pepper." (126)

Cedar / Cedro 

Latin name: Cedrela odorata
Number of times mentioned: 6
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, South America

Quotations:

"África estaba llena de árboles, de ceibas, de cedros, de jagüeyes." (16)

"Africa was full of trees, ceibas, cedars, banyon trees." (24)

***

"Detrás se tocaba con dos palos en dos troncos de cedro ahuecados." (22)

"Behind the drums someone played two hollowed-out cedar trunks with two sticks." (31)

***

"Escaparates grandes, como caballos de cedro." (75) "Wardrobes as big as horses made of cedar." (95)

***

"Se llevaron caobas, cedros, jiquís; bueno, todo el monte se vino abajo." (80) "They took out mahoganies, cedars, indigo trees." (102)

***

"Se reunían allí y al cochino asadito lo colocaban arriba de la mesa en una bandeja de cedro con la boca llena de flores silvestres." (116)

"They all got together, and the roasted pig was put on a cedar serving board on a table with his mouth full of wild flowers." (144)

***

"En el lugar donde lo enterraban quedaba una lomita y sobre esa lomita colocaban una cruz de madera de cedro para que el negro tuviera protección." (95)

"There was a little mound in the place where they buried him, and on that mound they put a cedar wood cross so the man would have protection." (119)

Ceiba

Latin name: Ceiba pentandra
Number of times mentioned: 2
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, South America

Quotations:

"África estaba llena de árboles, de ceibas, de cedros, de jagüeyes." (16)

"Africa was full of trees, ceibas, cedars, banyon trees." (24)

***

"El campamento estaba al lado de una ceiba." (132)

"The camp was next to a ceiba tree." (166)

Curujey

"¡Ah! mucha agua de curujey." (140)

"And lots of curujey juice." (176)

***

"Los caballos se ponían flacos. Envejecían más rápido. A ellos no se les podía dar agua de curujey." (140)

"The horses got skinny. They got old quick. You couldn't give them curujey water." (176)

Feverfew / Escoba amarga

Ítamo real / Itamo

Jicara cimarrona / Wild gourd

Latin name: Crescentia cujete
Number of times mentioned: 1
Region of origin: West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America

Quotations:

"En jicaras cimarronas que se criaban nada más que para eso."" (74)

"In cups of wild gourd that were grown only for that purpose."" (94)

Macagua / Macaw

"La hoja de palo de macagua me servía para fumar." (39)

"I smoked the leaf of the macaw tree." (50)

Piñón de botija / Pine nut

Purslane / Verdolaga

Latin name: Portulaca oleracea
Number of times mentioned: 2
Region of origin: West Indies, North America, Central America, South America, Old World

Quotations:

"China no, allá lo que había más era yerba de la que se arrastra, dormidera, verdolaga, diez de la mañana." (16)

"Over there they had plants that grew along the ground, creepers, purslane, morning glories." (24)

***

"Lo más que podía hacer un libertador en Las Villas era robar ganado, recoger malanga, retoños de boniato, bledos, verdolagas, en fin..." (140)

"The most a revolutionary could do in Las Villas was to steal livestock, collect taro weeds, sweet potato shoots, amaranth, purslane, and such." (75)

Squash / Calabaza

"Ahí se cosechaba de todo: boniato, calabaza, quimbamtoó, maíz, gandul, frijol caballero, que es como las habas limas, yuca y maní." (18)

"They grew everything there: sweet potato, squash, okra, corn, peas, horse beans, beans like limas, limes, yuca and peanuts." (26)

***

"La calabaza, por ejemplo, no se podía comer, porque había santos que no se llevaban con ella." (60)

"Squash, for example, couldn't be eaten because there were saints that didn't get along with it." (77)

"Todavía hoy la calabaza no se come." (60)

"Even today a person doesn't eat squash." (70)

***

"Yo mismo ni me metía en el monte a buscarla, porque el que se enredaba en un yerbazal de calabazas se reventaba todito." (60)

Tobacco / Tabaco

Latin name: Nicotiana tabacum
Number of times mentioned: 8
Region of origin: North America, South America

Quotations:

"Si un hombre iba a pedirle a un brujo cualquiera una mujer, el brujo le mandaba que cogiera un mocho de tabaco de la mujer, si ella fumaba." (29)

"If a man went to a witch to ask for help getting a woman, the witch sent him to get some of the woman's tobacco if she smoked." (39)

***

"Ese se lo tiraba a la mujer en el tabaco." (29)

"You put it in the woman's tobacco." (39)

***

"Después les pasaban por las llagas compresas de hojas de tabaco con orina y sal." (30) "Afterward they would cover the wounds with compresses of tobacco leaves, urine and salt." (40)

***

"La hoja de tabaco o la yerba mora sirven para las picadas." (39) "Tobacco or mulberry leaves work for bites." (50)

***

"La rellenaba con andullo y me ponía a fumar para pasar el rato." (73)

"I filled it with a plug of tobacco, and I set to smoking it to pass the time." (92)

***

"Nunca les faltaba tabaco, ni chocolate caliente, ni viandas, ni carne de puerco." (88)

"They were never without tobacco or hot chocolate or greens or pork." (111)

***

"Cuando veía que una picada de algún bicho se me iba a enconar, cogía la hoja de tabaco y la mascaba bien." (39)

"Whenever I saw that the bite of some bug was going to get swollen up on me, I took hold of the tobacco leaf, and I chewed it well." (50)

***

"Aun así cuando se disolvió el ejército, los libertadores negros fío pudieron quedarse en la ciudad. Regresaron al campo, a la caña, al tabaco, a cualquier cosa, menos a las oficinas." (157)

"Even so, when the army was disbanded, the black revolutionaries were unable to remain in the city. They returned to the country, to the cane fields, tobacco fields, to whatever, except to the offices." (195)

Botanical Reference:
Shanu Mishra and M B Mishra, “Tobacco: Its Historical, Cultural, Oral, and Periodontal Health Association,” Journal of International Society of Preventive & Community Dentistry 3, no. 1 (January 2013): 12–18, https://doi.org/10.4103/2231-0762.115708.

Watercress / Berro

Latin name: Nasturtium officinale
Number of times mentioned: 1
Region of origin: Europe, Africa, Asia

Quotations:

"De esas comidas, la más rica era el ochinchín, que se hacía con berro, acelga, almendras y camarones sancochados." (60)

"But the most delicious of all those foods was ochinchin that was made with water cress, chard, almonds, and boiled shrimp." (77)

Yuquilla / Arrowroot

Latin name: Maranta arundinacea
Number of times mentioned: 1
Region of origin: Mexico, Central America, South America

Quotations:

"Se parecía al atol que se hacía de sagú: yuquilla que se rayaba y salta igual que el almidón." (60)

"It was like atol that was made with sagu, arrowroot that was rolled and came out like corn starch." (77)

Epazote

Latin name: Chenopodium ambrosioides
Number of times mentioned: 1
Region of origin: Mexico, Central America, South America

Quotations:

"Se mezclan todas, la albahaca, el apasote, el piñón de botija, se meten en la lata con un poco de azúcar y sal." (101)

"You mix them all up, basil, apasote, pine nuts, put them in the can with a little sugar and salt." (126)