Name/Title
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)Entry/Object ID
2021.1.65 BScope and Content
Salal (Gaultheria shallon) plant description, framed.
Salal, an evergreen shrub, is common to the Pacific Coast from Alaska to southern California. It prefers foggy areas and shade. In full sun, it is a dense thicket of one to three feet tall, but in shade it will be more spindly and up to 10 feet tall. Pink, urn-shaped flowers appear in June and Joly. Bluish-black berries develop in the fall.
While Lewis directed the building of Fort Clatsop, Clark took several men to the ocean to find a salt making site. On December 9, 1805, he wrote in his Journal of some Clatsop Indians who invited them to their village near today's Seaside, Oregon: "Those people appeared much Neeter in their diat than Indians are Comonly, and frequently wash theer faces and hands. in the eveng an old woman presented a bowl made of a light coloured horn a kind of Surup made of Dried berries which is common to the Countrey which the natives Call Shele wele this Surup I though was pleasent," Again. on December 27, they received Salal along with roots in trade from a group of Clatsops. Clark noted, "Those roots & berries are greatfull to our Stomacks as we have nothing to eate but Pore Elk meet, nearly spoiled; & this accident of spoiled meet, is owing to the warmth & the repeeted rains, which cause the meet to tante before we can get it from the woods."
The Indians ate Salal, a spicy fruit, fresh or dried into cakes. The young leaves could be chewed as a hunger suppressant or could be made into a tea to treat coughs and diarrhea. The berries were also mixed with other foods as a flavoring.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
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)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.