kooyah means valeriana edulis, or the large, internally bright yellow, edible root of this plant, which tastes and smells like tobacco until cooked, when it becomes sweet. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 90 out of 100.
Etymology
Borrowed from Shoshone kuya (“tobacco root, Valeriana edulis”).
noun
- Valeriana edulis, or the large, internally bright yellow, edible root of this plant, which tastes and smells like tobacco until cooked, when it becomes sweet.