The legacy grows

Welcome to this special issue of HOMES & GARDENS of the Northwest dedicated to the 176 plants Meriwether Lewis and William Clark discovered for science. Their botanical contribution is an easily overlooked story of their remarkable journey. In this issue, we tell some of that story.

It's important to acknowledge that while Lewis and Clark get scientific credit for introducing these plants, Native Americans knew of and used them first. In fact, the explorers learned of many of these plants — as medicinal and food sources, as canoes and shelter — from the Native Americans.

Likewise, we were helped in our search for the modern legacy of these plants. In particular, Richard McCourt, associate curator at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, set aside a day to show us the Lewis and Clark Herbarium and has been an invaluable source of information. Lillian Pethtel of Kamiah, Idaho, who has devoted much of her life to studying Lewis and Clark plants, has been gracious with her time and knowledge.

When we started our search two summers ago, neither of us knew much about Lewis and Clark other than having vague memories of what we studied in fifth grade. We pronounced Sacagawea wrong. (Suh-CAH-gah-wee-a is how the Shoshone say her name.) And forget about pronouncing Weippe Prairie (it's WEE-ipe).

Following the trail of plants from St. Louis to Astoria — plants we can still see, touch and collect — brought Lewis and Clark to life. We've added their plants to our own yards, and we've started our own herbariums.

We hope this issue does the same for you.

—JOLENE KRAWCZAK AND JOAN CARLIN

Trail glossary

CORPS OF DISCOVERY Name of the expedition. The permanent party consisted of 33 members, including the captains, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (though commissioned a lieutenant, Lewis considered and called Captain Clark; former President Bill Clinton made the promotion official this year), Clark's African-American slave, York, Touissant Charbonneau, his wife, Sacagawea, and their newborn son, Jean Baptiste.

FORT CLATSOP Winter camp (Dec. 7, 1805-March 23, 1806) near Astoria, Ore.

FORT MANDAN Winter camp (Nov. 2, 1804-April 7, 1805) near Washburn, N.D.

CANOE CAMP On the Clearwater River (Sept. 26-Oct. 7, 1805) near Orofino, Idaho, where the expedition built five large dugout canoes.

CAMP CHOPUNNISH aka LONG CAMP On the Clearwater River (May 14-June 10, 1805) in Kamiah, Idaho, where the expedition waited for spring to cross the Bitterroot Range on the return trip. Named the camp Chopunnish after the people who lived there.

TRAVELERS' REST Along Lolo Creek in Lolo, Mont. The expedition camped here coming and going.

LOLO TRAIL The corps followed this Nez Perce route over the Bitterroot Range that divides Montana and Idaho.

WEIPPE PRAIRIE High prairie where the expedition first met the Nez Perce after struggling through the Bitterroot Range.

BITTERROOT (Lewisia rediviva) New genus named for Lewis

RAGGED ROBIN (Clarkia pulchella) New genus named for Clark

LEWIS AND CLARK BICENTENNIAL National events from 2003-2006 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the journey.

LEWIS AND CLARK HERBARIUM Actual plant samples collected by Lewis — 226 specimen sheets — housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.

THE LEGACY GROWS reproduced courtesy of the Oregonian.
These stories originally ran May 24, 2001
© 2001 The Oregonian
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