Name/Title
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.60 BScope and Content
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) plant description, framed.
There are four varieties of Pinus contorta or Lodgepole Pine. The species name usually makes people think of the tall straight varieties which grow in the Rocky Mountain, Sierras and Cascades. However, one variety more accurately fits the name of Pinus contorta. It is the Shore or Scrub Pine variety which grows along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California and east to Montana. The tree, which grows to around 20 feet, has a short, rounded top with dark green needles and a blackish, furrowed trunk which is gnarled, twisted and contorted.
Lewis and Clark probably saw this tree along the coast but did not mention it until the return trip on June 10, 1806 at Camp Chopunnish. Lewis described it as "a species of dwarf pine which grows about ten or twelve feet high, bears a globular formed cone with small scales, the leaves are about the length and much the appearance of the common pitch pine having it's leaves in fassicles of two; in other rispects they would at a little distance be taken for the young plants of the long leafed pine."
The year before, on November 18-19, 180, William Clark and a group of men were exploring the area along the Pacific coast. Clark wrote in his journals, "I proceeded on the Sandy Coast 4 miles and marked my name on a small pine, the Day of the month & year, &c..." The species of pine is not identified, but perhaps it was a Scrub Pine.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
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta)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.