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Lewisia rediviva
Also called Bitter root, Oregon Bitterroot, Oregon Bitter Root
Bitterroot is a low perennial herb of western North America with a fleshy taproot and a rosette of thick, fleshy leaves, producing large pink to white flowers in spring. It thrives in dry, gritty, well-drained soil and can survive long dry spells.
Bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) is a small perennial herb in the family Montiaceae. Its specific epithet rediviva ("revived, reborn") refers to its ability to regenerate from dry and seemingly dead roots.
The genus Lewisia was moved in 2009 from the purslane family (Portulacaceae) with adoption of the APG III system, to the family Montiaceae.
The plant is native to western North America from low to moderate elevations on grassland, open bushland, forest in dry rocky or gravelly soils. Its range extends from southern British Columbia, through Washington and Oregon west of the Cascade Range to southern California, and east to western Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, northern Colorado and northern Arizona.
The thick roots come into season in spring and can survive extremely dry conditions. If collected early enough in the season, they can be peeled, boiled, and made into a jelly-like food.
Shortsepal lewisia · Cantelow's lewisia · Columbian lewisia · Congdon's lewisia · Siskiyou lewisia · Yosemite lewisia · Kellogg's lewisia · Quill-leaf lewisia · Truckee lewisia · Maguire's lewisia · Nevada lewisia · Oppositeleaf lewisia
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Bitterroot by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
