What is the State Flowers of Montana?
Lewisia rediviva or Bitterroot is the State flower of Montana. It is commonly known as Bitterroot or American Bitterroot. French trappers knew the plant as racine amère (bitter root). Native American called it including spetlum / sp̓eƛ̓m̓ or spetlem (‘hand peeled’) nakamtcu (Ktanxa: naqam¢u), and mo’ôtáa-heséeo’ôtse (Cheyenne, “black medicine”), which is comes from the Portulacaceae family with the genus of Lewisia and species is L. rediviva.
The Montana’s state flower Lewisia rediviva or Bitterroot is scientifically known as Lewisia rediviva, which is native to United States within the very wide range of east Cascades to the rockies and from British Columbia south in to the Arizona, Colorado and California. Bitterroot is a culturally noteworthy plant for numerous Native American tribes in the West (Flathead, Kutenai, Nez Perce, Paiute, Shoshoni and others). By tradition, the roots were congregate, dried for storage, and used for foodstuff or do business. The root is bitter, so it was cooked and habitually mixed with meat or berries.
The Montana’s state flower Lewisia rediviva or Bitterroot is the most popular flowers in Montana for its excellent beauty, sweet fragrant and abundance. On February 27, 1895, inspired by its beauty, the people of Montana named Bitterroot or Lewisia rediviva to designate as the state flower of Montana.
State Flower of Montana Facts:
- Common Name: Bitterroot or American Bitterroot
- Family: Portulacaceae
- Genus: Lewisia
- Species: L. rediviva
- Scientific Name: Lewisia rediviva,
- Found in: East Cascades east to the Rockies and from British Columbia south into California, Arizona, and Colorado.
- Color: whitish to deep pink or rose
- Number of petals: Multi-petal
- Number of Sepals: 6 – 9
- Time of blooming: From April through July
- Purpose: Ornamental, Medicinal
- Symbolism: Peace, purity, dignity, Nobility.
The Montana’s state flower Lewisia rediviva or Bitterroot plants are growing on gruff to weighty, generally with dry soil on grassland. It also preferred open forest from low altitudes to the subalpine. The plants are generating on small stems singly during the month of March. Sepals of the Bitterroot flower are generally 6-9, which are mostly oval shaped with the length of 10-25 mm. The sepals are uneven, partly covered with whitish to deep pink or rose in color. The Bitterroot flower has more than 15 barely oblong-oblanceolate shaped petals of 18-35 mm long. The color of the Bitterroot flower petals is deep to light pinkish-rose and occasionally it may be almost pure white.
For the good cultivation of Bitterroot or Lewisia rediviva plants necessarily needed well-drained sandy and dark organic materialized soils in a luminous location. Characteristically it can survive constant in chilly weather, and not to prefer discontinuous periods of calm and wintry climates, also not to like damply environments. Under-watering is the favorable for good cultivation of the plants, while over watering would be great cause to destroy the plants easily.
The Montana’s state flower Lewisia rediviva or Bitterroot has decidedly valued medicinal properties. Their root contains nutrients and organic composites. Its root extract reduced pulse rate and also soothing agent, which is very much effective for heart disease and well relieve from excessive trauma to the organism of cardiovascular. It is widely use for traditional medicines. It also used to make of folk remedy for the arthritis and gastrointestinal disorder.
The state flower of Montana, USA is undoubtedly an eye-catching beauty that grows in plenty throughout the state. Because of its stunning gorgeousness and the frequent occurrence in nature in Montana, it was a natural fit for the state to choose.
Ref:
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/herbs-and-spices/bitter-root.html
https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=LERE7
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitterroot
