Name/Title
Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.50 BScope and Content
Vine Maple (Acer circinatum) plant description, framed.
The Vine Maple is a small tree of the Pacific Northwest that rarely grows over 40 feet. The stems appear to trail and are vine-like. The light green foliage turns orange and scarlet in the fall.
Meriwether Lewis collected leaves of the Vine Maple in October 1805 as the Corps journeyed down the Columbia River. However, it was not until February 10, 1806, at the Fort Clatsop winter camp, that Lewis described the specimen in his journal. The entry that day did not have a lot of good news - "Drewyer visited his traps today but caught no beaver. Collins and Wiser returned had killed no Elk. Willard arrived late in the evening from the Saltworks, had cut his knee very badly with his tommahawk... Bratton was very unwell...Gibson was so sick that he could not set up or walk alone." The remainder of the entry was devoted to describing two types of maple trees. The first was the Bigleaf Maple and the second was the Vine Maple. Lewis wrote, "in the same part of the country there is also another growth which resembles the white maple in it's appearance, only that it is by no means so large...they frequently grow in clusters as if from the same bed of roots spreading and leaning outwards. the twigs are long and slender. the stems simple branching." Lewis also drew this sketch of the leaf. Today, the specimen Lewis collected is in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
The Native Americans used the Vine Maple in making a number of items including fish traps and baskets.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
Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)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.