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| The branching taproot of Bitterroot |
A few weeks ago Katrina and I
traveled to Missoula for the Northwest Scientific Association Conference. She
presented her Master’s research and we both attended several great talks
related to fire ecology, wetlands, climate change, and bryology. We made a
point of leaving some time to explore the dry slopes around Missoula for early
spring edible roots. In particular, I was keen to find Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), and a type of biscuit
root called Cous Root (Lomatium cous),
since both are traditional root vegetables of major importance to Native
Americans throughout the dryland forests of Columbia River watershed.
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| The large Bitterroot flowers range from pink to white. |
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| Wild onions |
When we arrived in
Missoula, the north slopes of all the surrounding mountains were still covered
with snow from a late winter blizzard. I was worried that we were too early and
the plants would still be dormant, but just like in the Cascades, the perennial
roots had quickly sprung up after the snow melted. It even snowed a few inches
one morning, but hastily melted in the afternoon, further coaxing the precocious
leaves of Wild Onions, Camas, Bitterroot and Cous Root from their wintery
reserves.
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| A small thick Cous Root |
Both Bitterroot and Cous Root seemed to prefer to grow in
rocky meadow soil. They take advantage of the moisture from snow melt and
flower very early in the season, but I was even earlier. No sign of the huge
pink Bitterroot flowers were visible yet and the plant's presence was only discernible by small tentacle like leaves. Cous Root produces
leaves and flowers at nearly the same time, but both were still in the early
stages of unfurling. Soil that probably becomes dry and impenetrable later in
the year yielded to my digging stick and I pried out several starchy roots of
both species, quickly realizing why Indigenous harvesters of these roots
employed narrow tipped digging sticks that easily pierce tough soils and slide
between rocks. These roots were smaller than I had imagined, but they were also
more abundant than I thought they would be.
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| Cous Root Distribution (CPNWH) |
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| Emerging flowers and leaves |
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| Cous Root line-up |
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| Rehydrated Cous Root |
Native Americans
throughout the plants range peeled and ate Cous Roots fresh or dried. Dried roots were often pulverized
into flour or meal and later boiled to thicken and flavor soups (Moerman 1998). The common
name and species epithet “Cous” comes to us from the Sahaptin word x̣̣awš, which is also written coush (Hilty
et al. 1980; Hunn 1990; Ettinger
and Harless 1995). Eugene Hunn writes that Native Americans living along
the Mid-Columbia traditionally harvested as much as 60 bushels or Cous,
Bitterroot, and other spring root vegetables every year. Some, such as my
friend Heather, still harvest Cous and Bitterroot every spring. Cous is dug after
the seeds have formed in late March or April at lower elevations and as late as
June at higher elevations. At this time the bark is easy to peel from starchy
roots (Hilty et al. 1980).
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| Bitterroot Distribution (CPNWH) |
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| Bitterroot prior to flowering |
Bitterroot is a very
small herbaceous perennial with a proportionately large flower. Small linear
leaves arise in the early spring in a basal rosette; each leaf is 1-5 cm long
and 2-3 mm with a thick fleshy consistency and blue-green color that makes them
resemble sea anemone. In May or June large white, pink, or purple flowers emerge
singly or in clusters of 2-5 on short stems. Branching taproots 5-10 cm long reach
into the gravely or rocky soil that they inhabit. Bitterroots grow in sagebrush
plains and open forests in the mountains east of the Cascade Crest in southern
British Columbia southward to California and eastward to Montana and Wyoming.
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| A small but stout Bitterroot |
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| Peeled and dried Bitterroot |
Like Cous, the roots of
Bitterroot were universally eaten by Native Americans wherever they were found.
The skin of the roots is exceedingly bitter thus leading to the common name,
but traditional harvesters deliberately harvested the roots in the spring
before they flowered when the skins easily slip off yielding a starching root that only has the slightest hint of bitterness.
I've transplanted both species into pots in my back yard so that I can continue my experiments with these tasty roots without having to drive over the mountains.
References
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria (CPNWH). http://www.pnwherbaria.org/
Ettinger, Marjorie L. and Susan E. Harless 1995. “Warm Spring Reservation of Oregon: Botanical Descriptions and Floral Checklist.” Kalmiopsis. http://www.npsoregon.org/kalmiopsis/kalmiopsis05/ettinger_harless.pdf
Ettinger, Marjorie L. and Susan E. Harless 1995. “Warm Spring Reservation of Oregon: Botanical Descriptions and Floral Checklist.” Kalmiopsis. http://www.npsoregon.org/kalmiopsis/kalmiopsis05/ettinger_harless.pdf
Hilty, Ivy E. Jean H.
Peters, Eva M. Benson, Margaret A. Edwards, and Lorrain T. Miller 1980.
“Nutritive Values of Native Foods of Warm Spring Indians.” Extension Circular
809, Oregon State University Extension Service, Corvallis Oregon. http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/24929/ECNO809.pdf?sequence=1
Hunn, Eugene S. 1990.
“Nch’i-Wána: ‘The Big River’, Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land.” University
of Washington Press, Seattle WA. http://books.google.com/books?id=2Nx1guRPcu8C&q=Lomatium+cous#v=onepage&q&f=false
Moerman, Dan. “Native
American Ethnobotany” database. University of Michigan, Dearborn MI.
