Name/Title
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.58 BScope and Content
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) plant description, framed.
The Yarrow is a perennial plant that grows approximately three-feet tall with fern-like leaves and clusters of small flowers. The flowers blossom from mid-spring through summer. Variations of Yarrow are common in many parts of the world.
Yarrow is an herb which promotes moderate perspiration, lowers blood pressure, and stimulates digestion. It is also beneficial in treating colds, flu, and fever. Native Americans drank Yarrow tea to relieve indigestion and to improve that "run down feeling." They used the leaves to make a poultice for the treatment of rashes.
In 1806, from May 14 to June 10, the Corps of Discovery camped by the Clearwater River near present-day Kamiah, Idaho. The men were waiting for the snow to melt in Lolo Pass so they could cross the Bitterroot Mountains.
Shown to the left is one of the Yarrow samples in the Lewis and Clark Herbarium at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Notes with the sample say "Camp on the Kooskooska River May 20th, 1806." (Kooskooska was Lewis and Clark's name for the Clearwater River)
One-fourth of all the dried, preserved specimens of the Lewis and Clark Herbarium were collected in today's Idaho during the return journey.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
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.)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.