''Bistorta bistortoides'' (American bistort, western bistort, smokeweed, mountain meadow knotweed, mountain buckwheat or mountain meadow buckwheat) is a perennial herb in the buckwheat and knotweed family

Polygonaceae The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus ''Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1789 ...

. The species name remains unresolved. ''Bistorta bistortoides'' is distributed throughout the Mountain West in North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

south into

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and east into the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

. ''Bistorta bistortoides'' grows from foothills to above the timberline, although plants growing above 7,500 feet (2250 m) are smaller and seldom reach more than 12 inches (30 cm) in height. Plants in other areas may reach over half a meter–1.5 feet (20–60 cm) tall. The leaves are leathery and up to 40 centimeters (3 feet) long, and are mostly basal on the stem. The dense cylindrical to oblong

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is packed with small white to pinkish flowers, each a few millimeters wide and with protruding

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. Rodents and bears consume the roots, and elk and deer browse the foliage. American bistort was an important food plant used by Native Americans living in the Mountain West, including

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

and

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enroll ...

peoples. The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s are edible either raw or fire-roasted with a flavor resembling

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

s. The seeds can be dried and ground into

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

and used to make bread. They were also roasted and eaten as a cracked grain.Tilford, G. L. ''Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West'' The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.

References

External links

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Jepson Manual Treatment – ''Polygonum bistortoides''United States Department of Agriculture Plants Profile''Polygonum bistortoides'' – Callphotos Photo gallery, University of California
bistortoides Plants described in 1813 Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of the South-Central United States Plants used in Native American cuisine Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Polygonaceae-stub