Name/Title
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.61 BScope and Content
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) plant description, framed.
Wild Ginger, a perennial evergreen, grows in moist, deeply shaded forests. Since it grows low to the ground, it is sometimes hidden by fallen leaves. The plant, including the roots, smells of lemon-ginger when it is crushed.
Native Americans used various parts of the plant to make tea for stomach aches, poultices for headaches and injuries, or (mixed with moss) bedding for babies. Today, herbalists believe that ginger promotes circulation and aids in digestive, respiratory, and bronchial problems.
There were two serious accidents while traveling east on the Lolo Trail in today's Idaho. On June 18,1806, Private John Potts cut his leg. Lewis wrote: "he cut one of the large veigns on the inner side of the leg..." Potts' leg had improved by June 27 according to Lewis' journal entry: "Pott's legg which has been much swolen and inflamed for several days is much better this evening and gives him but little pain. We applyed the pounded roots and leaves of the wild ginger from which he found great relief."
Another accident occurred on July 18 when Private George Gibson was out hunting on horseback. He fell "on a Snag and sent it nearly (two) inches into the Muskeler part of his thy... this is a very bad wound and pains him exceedingly." The next day Clark sent Private Shields out in search of timber to make a canoe and "some Wild Ginger for a Poltice for Gibsons wound. He joined me at dinner with 2 fat Bucks but found neither tree or Ginger." By the end of July, Gibson was able to walk again.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
Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum)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.