Bitterroot (Before the Flower)

The bitterroot is among the toughest little plants inhabiting Montana.  Fitting, I think, this is our state flower.

The scientific name for bitterroot, Lewisia rediviva, is telling.

Meriwether Lewis, collected and pressed a specimen of bitterroot south of present-day Missoula, Montana, in 1806.  He and the Corps of Discovery were then making their way back to St. Louis after overwintering on the West Coast.  Frederick Pursh, a German botanist, later reviewed some of Lewis’s plant collection, including the bitterroot.  Pursh scientifically named the plant.

The “Lewisia” in the name reflects the fact Lewis collected the specimen for science.

According to a U.S. Forest Service information Page on the bitterroot plant, the second half of the name is testament to its hardiness:   

“The species was named rediviva from the Latin word meaning “reviving from a dry state” referring to the ability of the plant to grow again after having been dug up, dried whole, and stored for months, which the specimen presented to Pursh in fact did, much to the amazement of those at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia!”

Bitterroots appear early in the spring.  They are, in fact, flourishing now, when nothing else is afoot.  The plants are small, low, and wholly unassuming.  They will thrive for the next two months, put forth spectacular blossoms in June, produce seed pods, and then utterly vanish underground for the rest of the year.

Bitterroot Now

Bitterroot in Bloom

—Mitchell Hegman