Legend of the Bitteroot

A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER & NATIVE AMERICAN TREASURE

The bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), one of the most beautiful wildflowers, is the state flower of Montana. Lewis and Clark are credited with discovering the bitterroot, but Native Americans, who knew it as spetlum, were using its roots for food and trade long before Lewis and Clark appeared. As an important part of their diet, they timed their spring migrations with the emergence of the bitterroot leaves. Tribes dug up the roots before the plant flowered and dried them so they could be kept and used for months. Unless cooked, the root was too bitter to eat. When boiled, it was mixed with berries or meat and could be made into patties that kept and carried well.

An Indian legend about the bitterroot says the sun heard a mother crying because she couldn't find food for her family. The sun changed her tears into the bitterroot so she would always have food for her children.

The bitterroot is native to areas in British Columbia through the Rocky Mountains to the San Bernardino Mountains. It is found on the sagebrush plains to the lower mountains in dry soil such as loose gravel and rocky places, sandy ground, granite, or shale. The species name rediviva refers to the hardiness of the plant. A bitterroot can live for over a year without water.

The low-growing perennial has fleshy, one- to two-inch leaves that appear in early spring, soon after the snow melts and before it blooms. The narrow, red-green leaves form a basal rosette. The leaves may be present when it flowers, but usually they are not. During flowering, the leaves are withering and drying, and by the end of June, the leaves are gone.

When mature, the bitterroot flower produces egg-shaped capsules which contain 6-20 nearly round seeds that mice love to eat.

According to Montana Plant Life, there are medicinal uses for the bitterroot.

The root affects the heart and promotes secretion of milk. An infusion of the root has been used to increase the milk flow in nursing mothers, to relieve heart pain and the pain of pleurisy, and also as a blood purifier. The root has been eaten raw to counteract the effects of poison ivy rash and as a treatment for diabetes. The pounded dry root has been chewed in the treatment of sore throats. A poultice of the raw roots has been applied to sores.

For more info:

Montana Plant Life.org – Field guide for bitterroot flower
USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service – Classification chart, photos, and distribution graphic
National Bison Range Wildlife Refuge was established in 1908, one of the oldest Wildlife Refuges in the nation. Many bitterroot flowers are seen here