Name/Title
Lambs-Quarters (Chenopodium album)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.25 BScope and Content
Lambs-Quarters (Chenopodium album) plant description, framed.
Lambs-Quarters is an annual herb which grows all over the United States. The plant, which usually grows from one to three feet tall, blossoms between June and October. It is also known as Goosefoot.
Clark often mentioned in his Journal seeing Lambs-Quarters. The earliest note is near the Nishnabatona River on July 14, 1804; "In those small Praries or Glades I saw wild timothy, lambs-quarter, Cuckle burs, & rich weed." However, on August 22, 1805, while on a reconnaissance of the Salmon River in today's Idaho, Sergeant Gass gave a more detailed description of the Shoshone use of the Lambs-Quarters. "The people of these three lodges have gathered a quantity of sunflower seed, and also of the lambs-quarter, which they pound and mix with service berries, and make of the composition of a kind of bread; which appears capable of sustaining life for some time. On this bread and the fish they take out of the river, these people, who appear to be the most wretched of human species, chiefly subsist."
Although today, Lambs-Quarters is considered to be an unwanted weed, it does have some medicinal and nutritional value. It is high in vitamin A, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. The leaves have also been used as a poultice to soothe burns.Context
Originally designed by the St. Joseph Museum in the fall of 2004. Titled "Botanical Wonders of the Uncharted West. The Recorded Flora of the Lewis & Clark Expedition."Collection
Lewis and ClarkLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Botanical drawings, Expeditions & surveysArchive Items Details
Title
Lambs-Quarters (Chenopodium album)Creator
Mary L. FletcherDate(s) of Creation
2004Subjects
Plants, Watercolor paintingsParts
Count
2Parts
Watercolor of plant and descriptive label, both framed.Condition
Overall Condition
Very GoodProvenance
Notes
"Botanical Wonders of the Uncharted West" visually depicts how well Lewis followed Jefferson's instructions. In recognition of this achievement, The S. Joseph Museums, Inc. commissioned accomplished artist Mary Fletcher to create fifty (50) selected paintings of flora documented by the Corps during their Journey. These framed watercolor originals are accompanied by similarly framed labels, generated by former Head of Research Jackie Lewin, which describe the corresponding plants with appropriate quotations from the Journals. This collection makes available for study and appreciation plants that were new to Lewis and Clark, but which Native Peoples already recognized as valuable sources of food, medicine, and tools. Some of these still remain a mystery to many, but all will enjoy their beauty, their diverse uses, and their accomplished renderings.