Name/Title
Prairie Clover (Petalostemon violaceum)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.62 BScope and Content
Prairie Clover (Petalostemon violaceum) plant description, framed.
An upright perennial from one to three feet tall, Prairie Clover grows best in full sun in sandy, well-drained soil and produces flowers from June through September.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."
During the return journey, on July 3, 1806, the Corps of Discovery separated. Clark traveled south, and Lewis journeyed north to explore the Marias River. By July 20, Lewis was on the north side of the Marias River in today's southern Toole County, Montana. His journal entry of that day reads: "We set at sunrise and proceed through the open plain as yesterday up the north side of the river... The day has proven excessively warm and we lay by four hours during the heat of it."
Upon returning home, Lewis compiled is a list of plant specimens, including one collected on July 20, 1806. In Codex R, he wrote: "No. 15. Was taken on the 20th of July, a bieniel plant, an inhabitant of the open praries or plains, high situations, where the grass is low. the flower is a pale purple colour small form a kind of button of a long cone like form which terminates it's brances which are numerous. it grows about 2 1/2 or three feet high. It is a stranger to me. the leaves are small and narrow, and divided into three on a stem." At the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, botanists identified the plant as Petalostenom violaceum.
Native Americans made a tea from Prairie Clover leaves and chewed the roots for their sweet taste. The stems were strong enough that they could be used in brooms. Also, a stem tipped with a cactus thorn made a good arrow for small game.Collection
Lewis and ClarkLexicon
LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Botanical drawings, Expeditions & surveysArchive Items Details
Title
Prairie Clover (Petalostemon violaceum)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.