Name/Title
Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.55 BScope and Content
Arrowleaf Balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) plant description, framed.
Also known as breadroot and gray dock, Arrowleaf Balsamroot is a herbaceous member of the sunflower family. The plant grows to approximately 20 inches tall and blooms from April to July.
Lewis collected samples of Arrowleaf Balsamroot twice in 1805. The first sample was taken on April 14 just west of what would become The Dalles in Wasco County, Oregon. The second was collected on July 7, near today's Lewis and Clark Pass in Lewis and Clark County, Montana. A note with the July 7 sample said "Rock Mountains Dry Hills." Arrowleaf Balsamroot was not known to science until it was collected by Lewis and Clark and taken back East for study by botanists. Today, the plant grows east of the Cascade Mountains on open hillsides and prairies at low to moderate elevations.
Native Americans used the large taproots, root crowns, young shoots and stalks, leaves, seeds, and the flower bud stalks as food. The flower bud stalks were a favorite springtime food which could be eaten raw or cooked as a green vegetable. A note attached to one of Lewis' specimens said "The stem is eaten by the natives without any preparation."
According to his journal entry, Clark ate the seeds on April 21, 1806: "whilst I remained at the Enesher Village I Subsisted on 2 platters of roots, Some pounded fish and sun flour Seed pounded which an old mad had the politeness to give me. in return for which I gave him Several Small articles-."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
Arrowleaf Balsmroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata) WatercolorCreator
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.