Bitterroot (''Lewisia rediviva'') is a small

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

in the family Montiaceae. Its

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots. The genus '' Lewisia'' was moved in 2009 from the purslane family ( Portulacaceae) with adoption of the

APG III system The APG III system of flowering plant classification is the third version of a modern, mostly molecular-based, system of plant taxonomy being developed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG). Published in 2009, it was superseded in 2016 by a fu ...

, which established the family Montiaceae.

Description

''Lewisia rediviva'' is a low-growing

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

with a fleshy taproot and a simple or branched base. The flower stems are leafless, tall, bearing at the tip a whorl of 5–6 linear bracts which are 5–10 mm long. A single flower appears on each stem with 5–9 oval-shaped sepals. They range in color from whitish to deep pink or lavender. Flowering occurs from April through July. The petals (usually about 15) are oblong in shape and are long. At maturity, the bitterroot produces egg-shaped capsules with 6–20 nearly round seeds. The thick roots come into season in spring and can survive extremely dry conditions. If collected early enough in the season, they can be peeled, boiled, and made into a jelly-like food.

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 British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, through Washington and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

west of the Cascade Range to southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, and east to western

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

, northern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

and northern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

History and culture

French trappers knew the plant as (bitter root). Native American names include ''spetlum/sp̓eƛ̓m̓'' or ''spetlem'' ("hand-peeled"), ''nakamtcu'' ( Ktanxa: ''naqam¢u''), and ''mo'ôtáa-heséeo'ôtse'' (

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian languages, Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized tribe, federally recognize ...

, "black medicine"). The roots were consumed by tribes such as the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, e ...

and the

Flathead Indians The Bitterroot Salish (or Flathead, Salish, Selish) are a Salish-speaking group of Native Americans, and one of three tribes of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation in Montana. The Flathead Reservation is home to th ...

as an infrequent delicacy. Traditionally, the

Ktunaxa The Kutenai ( ), also known as the Ktunaxa ( ; ), Ksanka ( ), Kootenay (in Canada) and Kootenai (in the United States), are an indigenous people of Canada and the United States. Kutenai bands live in southeastern British Columbia, northern ...

cooked bitterroot with

grouse Grouse are a group of birds from the order (biology), order Galliformes, in the family (biology), family Phasianidae. Grouse are presently assigned to the Tribe (biology), tribe Tetraonini (formerly the subfamily Tetraoninae and the family Tetr ...

. For the Ktunaxa, bitterroot is eaten with sugar; other tribes prefer eating it with salt. The

Lemhi Shoshone The Lemhi Shoshone are a tribe of Northern Shoshone, also called the Akaitikka, Agaidika, or "Eaters of Salmon".Murphy and Murphy, 306 The name "Lemhi" comes from Fort Lemhi, a Mormon mission to this group. They traditionally lived in the Lemhi ...

believed the small red core found in the upper taproot had special powers, notably being able to stop a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the N ...

attack.

Plains Indians Plains Indians or Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies are the Native American tribes and First Nation band governments who have historically lived on the Interior Plains (the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) o ...

peeled and boiled the root prior to its consumption. Bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva var

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, wi ...

ate bitterroot in 1805 and 1806 during the

Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gr ...

. The specimens he brought back were identified and given their scientific name, ''Lewisia rediviva'', by a German-American botanist,

Frederick Pursh Frederick Traugott Pursh (or Friedrich Traugott Pursch) (February 4, 1774 – July 11, 1820) was a German–American botanist. Born in Großenhain, Saxony, under the name Friedrich Traugott Pursh, he was educated at Dresden Botanical Gardens, and ...

. Based on Lewis and Clark's manuscript, Pursh labeled it "spatlum"; this apparently was actually a Salishan name for "tobacco". The bitterroot was selected as the Montana state flower in 1895. Three major geographic features – the Bitterroot Mountains (running north–south and forming the divide between

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

and Montana), the Bitterroot Valley, and the

Bitterroot River The Bitterroot River is a northward flowing river running through the Bitterroot Valley, from the confluence of its West and East forks near Conner in southern Ravalli County to its confluence with the Clark Fork River near Missoula in Missou ...

(which flows south–north, terminating in the

Clark Fork river The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and ...

in the city of Missoula) – owe the origins of their names to this flower.

References

External links

* *
Calflora Database: ''Lewisia rediviva'' (Bitter root)

U.S. Forest Service

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4113860 Lewisia Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Plants used in Native American cuisine Symbols of Montana Taxa named by Frederick Traugott Pursh Flora without expected TNC conservation status

Description

Distribution

History and culture

References

Further reading

External links