Name/Title
Western Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.47 BScope and Content
Western Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum) plant description, framed.
The pteridium aquilinum is the type of bracken fern that grows in the Northern Hemisphere. The particular variety which is found in western North American is pubescens. It grows in large colonies of knee-high, dark green, horizontal leaves.
Meriwether Lewis described the Western Bracken Fern during his winter at Fort Clatsop: " There are three species of fern in this neighbourhood the root of one which the natives eat; this grows very abundant in the open uplands and prairies... when the root is roasted in the embers is much like wheat dough and unlike it in flavour, though it has also a pungency which becomes more visible after you have chewed it some little time; this pungency was disagreeable to me, but the natives eat it very voraciously and I have no doubt but it is a very nutricious food."
Lewis also noted that the plant was a "fine green colour in summer," but in January when he wrote the description, the ferns were dry, brittle and "of course dead at present." This caused the hunters some problems. Food was a constant need for the party and hunters worked to collect enough to sustain the men until they could reach the Nez Perce village. Lewis wrote on March 30, 1806, "I saw 4 deer... and much appearance of both Elk and deer. Joseph feields who was also out a little above me saw several Elk and deer but killed none of them; they are very shye and the annual furn which is now dry and abundant in the bottoms makes so much nois in passing through it that it is extreemly difficult to get within reach of the game."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
Western Bracken Fern (Pteridium aquilinum)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.