Passage II

Meriwether Lewis: Botanist by Request

[l]

In 1803, Meriwether Lewis, private secretary to President Jefferson, was commissioned by the president to lead a newly formed Corps of Discovery and travel west to the Pacific Ocean. [A] Lewis was expected to record “with great pains and accuracy” the “growth and vegetable production” of the country the Corps passed through.(18)Jefferson hoped the information would provide a key to the agricultural and commercial possibilities of the western territory.

[2]

Lewis might of seemed to be an odd choice. He was no botanist but rather an army officer with only a few years of schooling. Lewis had, however, grown up in the presence of an expert. His mother, Lucy Meriwether Lewis Marks, was a respected herbal doctor in Virginia. [B] From her, Lewis had learned to identify which plants were beneficial and the ones that weren’t to avoid. He had a catalog of medicinal herbs committed to memory and a talent for observation.

[3]

Prior to setting out with William Clark, Lewis spent two years learning the principles of preserving and cataloging botanical specimens. [C] His mentor was the countries most prominent botanist,Benjamin Smith Barton.(22) During what could be summarized an apprenticeship, Lewis perfected his ability to dry a specimen between pages of blotting paper and methodically keeping notes. On the expedition, he would meticulously describe, in writing and through sketches, each plant, including: details about how it tasted, smelled, seemed, and handled.

[4]

Lewis diligently collected seeds and brought back over 150 specimens, at least half of which had been previously unknown to botanists. [D] He more than fulfilled Jefferson’s directive despite the fact that his own botanical skills were, as he put it, “slender.”

[5]

Declared a national hero, the collection of botanical specimens became one of the richest legacies of the expedition. Among the plants were species that would become official state flowers. Your state flower may be one of them.