Name/Title
Ragged Robin (Clarkia Pulchella)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.59 BScope and Content
Ragged Robin (Clarkia Pulchella) plant description, framed.
Ragged Robin is an annual flower which grows in southern British Columbia, along the Columbia River, and from central Oregon through Idaho and western Montana. Also known as Pink Fairy, Deer Horn, or Clarkia, it can grow from 12 to 18 inches tall and produce a profusion of flowers which Lweis said were "of a pale perple colour." They reseed themselves easily.
On the return journey the Corps of Discovery, waiting for snow in the Bitterroot Mountains to melt, camped in today's western Idaho for nearly a month. Lewis used this time to collect many plant specimens. On June 1, 1806, Lewis entered a detailed nearly 500 word description of this plant in his journal. He began the description with "I met with a sinhular plant today in blume of which I preserved a specemine; it grows on the steep sides of the fertile hills near this place..." Lewis concluded the description with "I regret very much that the seed of this plant are not yet ripe and it is proble will not be so during my residence in this neighbourhood."
Lewis took the specimen back east for study. About eight years later botanist Frederick Pursh named the plant Clarkia pulchella in honor of William Clark. Pulchella means beautiful. Today, the specimen Lewis collected is in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia along with his note: "A beautiful herbaceous plant from the Kooskooskee and Clark's River, June 1, 1806."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
Ragged Robin (Clarkia Pulchella)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.