Bitterroot
Bitterroot | |
---|---|
Lewisia rediviva var. rediviva in Wenas Wildlife Area, Washington | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Montiaceae |
Genus: | Lewisia |
Species: | L. rediviva
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Binomial name | |
Lewisia rediviva |
Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) is a small
The genus Lewisia was moved in 2009 from the purslane family (Portulacaceae) with adoption of the APG III system, to the family Montiaceae.
Description
Lewisia rediviva is a low-growing
The very short flower stems are leafless, 1–3 centimetres (3⁄8–1+1⁄8 in) tall, bearing at the tip a whorl of 5–6 linear bracts which are 5–10 mm long. A single proportionally huge flower appears on each stem with 5–9 oval-shaped sepals and many petals.[2] The petals (usually about 15) are oblong in shape and are 18–35 millimetres (3⁄4–1+3⁄8 in) long.[2] They range in color from whitish to deep pink or lavender. Flowering occurs from April through July.[3] At maturity, the bitterroot produces egg-shaped capsules with 6–20 nearly round seeds.[2]
Distribution
The plant is native to western North America from low to moderate elevations on grassland, open bushland, forest in dry rocky or gravelly soils. Its range extends from southern British Columbia, through Washington and Oregon west of the Cascade Range to southern California, and east to western Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, northern Colorado and northern Arizona.[3][4][2][5]
Uses
The thick roots come into season in spring[6] and can survive extremely dry conditions. If collected early enough in the season,[7] they can be peeled, boiled, and made into a jelly-like food.[6]
History and culture
French trappers knew the plant as racine amère (bitter root).[8] Native American names include spetlum/sp̓eƛ̓m̓ or spetlem ("hand-peeled"), nakamtcu (Ktanxa: naqam¢u),[9] and mo'ôtáa-heséeo'ôtse (Cheyenne, "black medicine").[10]
The roots were consumed by tribes such as the
The bitterroot was selected as the Montana
Three major geographic features – the Bitterroot Mountains (running north–south and forming the divide between Idaho and Montana), the Bitterroot Valley, and the Bitterroot River (which flows south–north, terminating in the Clark Fork river in the city of Missoula) – owe the origins of their names to this flower.[8][14]
References
- ^ William Curtis (1801). The Curtis's botanical magazine. p. 123.
The specific name rediviva is given by Pursh in consequence of the root, long preserved in the herbarium, and apparently dead, having been planted, revived in a garden in Philadelphia.
- ^ a b c d Klinkenberg, Brian, ed. (2014). "Lewisia rediviva". E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ^ a b Sullivan, Steven. K. (2015). "Lewisia rediviva". Wildflower Search. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ^ "Lewisia rediviva". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2015. Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ^ Giblin, David, ed. (2015). "Lewisia rediviva". WTU Herbarium Image Collection. Burke Museum, University of Washington. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ^ OCLC 799792.
- ^ OCLC 25708726.
- ^ a b c d "Trivia | BitterrootHeaven.com". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
- ^ "FirstVoices: Ktunaxa words". Retrieved 2012-07-08.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Cheyenne Dictionary[permanent dead link] by Fisher, Leman, Pine, Sanchez.
- ^ Ashley Casimer. "Nutrition: Ktunaxa People and the Traditional Food History". Aqam Community Learning Centre. Archived from the original on 2009-11-12. Retrieved 2012-07-08.
- ^ Bureau of American Ethnology (1910). Handbook of American Indians. p. 624.
its supposed name was obtained from Lewis's manuscript by Pursh, who gives it as spatlum (Spatlum Aboriginorum). The name, which is Salishan, is here a misapplication, since spatlûm in the Comox dialect (spätlûm in the Kwantlin) is the name for
- Legislative Assembly, approved February 27, 1895, is the Bitter Root (Lewisia rediviva).
- ^ US Forest Service (1909). Names of National Forests with Their Origin, Definition, Or Derivation. Washington.
From the plant Lewisia rediviva, which gives name to the Bitter Root mountains and river of Montana and Idaho.
Further reading
- Johnny Arlee (2008). The Gift of the Bitterroot (PDF). ISBN 9780981683416. Retrieved 2018-01-24.
- Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
External links
- Media related to Lewisia rediviva
(bitter root) at Wikimedia Commons - Data related to Lewisia rediviva at Wikispecies
- Calflora Database: Lewisia rediviva (Bitter root)
- Central Washington Native Plant Society
- Plants of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
- Bitterroot, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. Forest Service
- WSDOT - Ethnobotany - Herbs. Lewisia rediviva - Bitter-root, Sand Rose, Portulacaceae (Purslane Family)