Bistorta bistortoides

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 species name remains unresolved.[1]

Bistorta bistortoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Polygonaceae
Genus: Bistorta
Species:
B. bistortoides
Binomial name
Bistorta bistortoides
(Pursh) Small 1906
Synonyms[1]
  • Persicaria bistortoides (Pursh) H.R. Hinds
  • Polygonum bistortoides Pursh

Bistorta bistortoides is distributed throughout the Mountain West in North America from Alaska and British Columbia south into California and east into the Rocky Mountains.[2][3]

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 is packed with small white to pinkish flowers, each a few millimeters wide and with protruding stamens.[4] Rodents and bears consume the roots, and elk and deer browse the foliage.[5]

American bistort was an important food plant used by Native Americans living in the Mountain West, including Blackfoot and Cheyenne peoples.[5] The roots are edible either raw or fire-roasted[6] with a flavor resembling chestnuts. The seeds can be dried and ground into flour and used to make bread. They were also roasted and eaten as a cracked grain.[7][8] The young leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.[5]

References
  1. "The Plant List: Bistorta bistortoides (Pursh) Small". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden. 2013.
  2. Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  3. Turner Photographics, Polygonum bistortoides – Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest photos, description, partial distribution map
  4. Flora of North America, Bistorta bistortoides (Pursh) Small, 1906. Western or American bistort , smokeweed
  5. Benoliel, Doug (2011). Northwest Foraging: The Classic Guide to Edible Plants of the Pacific Northwest (Rev. and updated ed.). Seattle, WA: Skipstone. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-59485-366-1. OCLC 668195076.
  6. Fagan, Damian (2019). Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides. p. 71. ISBN 1-4930-3633-5. OCLC 1073035766.
  7. Edibility: Identification and edible parts of American Bistort
  8. Tilford, G. L. Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West ISBN 0-87842-359-1


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