Most Americans have heard of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the profound impact they made on the American landscape. But did you know that these two explorers discovered and introduced to science close to 200 flora native to America?

We recall their perilous journey of discovery, their bravery against what seemed like insurmountable odds with little substantiated knowledge to guide their way. Along with nearly four dozen other comrades, they took to the West and forged a new area of settlement for Americans.

Lewis and Clark’s expedition never would have succeeded without the generosity, kindness and expert knowledge of the American Indians. They aided the journeymen in most of their discoveries and played the role of makeshift guides. Sadly, a dark period for the allies would come later during westward expansion.

The seed

President Thomas Jefferson had a growing interest in the western half of the United States. In fact, his library at Monticello had more books about the subject than any other library in the world.

Unfortunately, many of these literary references might as well have been fables. They spoke of animals such as unicorns, enormous woolly mastodons, beavers that towered over men and buffalo that were friendly.

The early 19th-century maps of the West were just as inaccurate. California often was seen as an island, and the Rocky Mountains were portrayed as narrow and un-intimidating. When Jefferson asked his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to spearhead a cross-country trek, it truly was into the unknown. Clearly, the Lewis and Clark expedition had many gaps to fill and not much reliable information to help guide their way.

Much of their exploration of discovery is told through the plants they documented. The president mandated that Lewis find useful plants for farming and commerce. Lewis had received ample instruction in botany, zoology, celestial navigation and medicine from the nation’s leading scientists to ready him for the journey, and he and Clark diligently collected, preserved, studied and described 176 plants to modern science – although Indians had long known of many of these plants.

“Many of the plants were unknown to Americans and Europeans, thereby expanding the botanical knowledge base for those groups,” says John Pierce, executive director of the Oregon Historical Society. “Having those records also provides a foundation by which ecologists can evaluate changes in the natural environment in the west.”

Winds of change

On Feb. 28, 1803, Congress granted approval for the landmark journey, setting in motion one of America’s greatest stories of discovery and adventure. The group set out from St. Louis on May 14, 1804.

Among the items tucked into the expeditioners’ packs were books on botany, mineralogy, nautical astronomy and “The Linnaeus,” a book of Latin classifications of flora. Clark was assigned to create maps, and Lewis described and collected plant and animal life.

Probably the most significant flow of information came not from any book but rather the American Indians along the way.

• National Geographic: Lewis & Clark
• Lewis & Clark’s Garden
• Lewis and Clark Herbarium

“The indigenous floras were extremely important to many different aspects of native culture,” Pierce explains, “ranging in uses from food to clothing to the construction of utensils.”

For instance, Indians used the Osage orange tree to construct bows and treated snake bites with echinacea (purple coneflower). The Nez Perce people shared camas with the starving exploratory party, which likely saved them from death. Flora and survival in the harsh conditions of the rugged West went hand and hand for American Indians.

Vanishing sprouts

Some of these original 176 species of plants are vanishing from the American landscape. Their disappearance has been fueled by population growth and large-scale agriculture.

“We should ensure the assessment of their vulnerability as a central part of the evaluation of the environmental impact of any development activities,” Pierce says. “We should identify those particular plants that are most vulnerable and ensure that regulations and restrictions are in place to prevent extinction. We should engage in educational activities both for school curricula and for general public publications.”

In Philadelphia, the Lewis and Clark Herbarium is housed in the Academy of Natural Sciences, where visitors can view the explorers’ journal entries about the plants they discovered and learn more about this fascinating duo who introduced Americans to the wide open West and the beauty that sprouted from that fertile soil.

Sources: www.nwrac.org, www.pbs.org, www.lewis-clark.org