New Beginnings

March 2023

Well, back in January I began this whole endeavor and then life happened and I haven’t been able to keep up as I originally intended.

The new year has thrown a curveball and I am in the process of packing up and moving to a new state. I’m excited for a fresh change and once I get settled in, it is my hope to pick up this passion project.

I thank you all who have already subscribed for your interest in where this substack might go!

Although it’s been quiet here, I am still just as ready as ever to share the love of herbs and folklore with you all. The past two months have been spent mostly with my nose in a book and I actually just completed an intermediate herbalism course through the Herbal Academy! One more down and many more courses to go.

While I get prepare for the big move, here’s some neat info about the state plants where I am headed…

The state flower is BITTERROOT.

Montana designated bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva) as the official state flower in 1895.

Bitterroot can be found during spring and summer, growing in the sagebrush plains and the foothills of the mountains in western and south central Montana.

Native Americans such as the Shoshone and Flathead Indians used the roots for food and trade. The bitter root of the low-growing perennial plant was cooked and usually mixed with berries or meat. The Lemhi Shoshone believed the small red core found in the upper taproot had special powers (notably being able to stop a bear attack).

Explorers Lewis and Clark wrote about the beautiful purplish-pink flower of the bitterroot. The Bitterroot Mountains (which form the divide between Idaho and Montana), the Bitterroot Valley, and the Bitterroot River all owe the origins of their names to this flower.

The state tree is PONDEROSA PINE.

Pinus ponderosa, Western Yellow Pine, Bull, Black Jack, Western Red, Sierra Brownbark, Heavy, Western Pitch, Ponderosa Pine... Montana's state tree has a long list of names. This stately western Montana resident has figured heavily in the development of all the West.

In what is now South Dakota, Lewis and Clark first observed the cones of the ponderosa pine which had floated that far on the currents of the Missouri River. Captain Lewis, particularly, took extensive notes on the tree as he passed through its habitat later during the journey west and back, but his untimely death in 1809 delayed any serious scientific study of the tree until the end of the 19^th century.

Pioneers needed no detailed report to encourage their use of the pine's wood for the civilization they were building. Ponderosa timber served everywhere, from railroad ties and telegraph poles to mine bracing and homes. Only later did its long needles and attractive cones garner more scientific consideration.

In the spring of 1908, Helena's school children held a referendum on which tree best represented the state. The ponderosa easily outdistanced fir, larch, and cottonwood for the designation. It was not until 1949, however, that the Montana Legislature bestowed its blessing. The Montana Federation of Garden Clubs carried on a year-long campaign on behalf of the ponderosa. The state forester supported it as the "most typical" of all Montana trees and the best commercial timber. The "king of the forest," he called it, and the Legislature agreed.

Montana's lumbermen have seconded the praise over the years, harvesting millions of board feet from public and private lands throughout the state. Today the tree may be found in most parts of western Montana. Its range includes the entire West, from the plains to the Pacific Coast. On average the tree reaches maturity when 60 to 125 feet tall (about 150 years old) and approximately 20 to 30 inches in diameter. The largest ponderosa pine on record live along the humid Pacific coast, where California naturalist John Muir once measured a giant, 220 feet tall and eight feet in diameter.

And there are a lot more plants I cannot wait to dive in and learn more about in my new home. More to come.

Thanks for being here!