Bitterroot Seeds (Lewisia rediviva)

Possibly the most storied and legendary of western wildflowers, bitterroot has been esteemed as a food plant, a medicine plant, a plant thought to grant near magical powers. This is also a plant of some scarcity, appearing most commonly off the beaten path – far away from people – in dry gravel soils of scant vegetation. In those places, bitterroot appears as a strikingly showy white to pink wildflower, emerging from almost stemless ground-level nodes, sustained by deep, expansive taproots that allow it to survive long periods, perhaps for years, without rain or water. Bitterroot seeds germinate best with cold stratification, and the plants adapt well to dry, deep gravel conditions (including deep gravel containers, expansive rock gardens, and gravel garden beds; in contrast the plant struggles with tall, lush competing vegetation, and rich soils. Note that bitterroot plants may go dormant for extended periods during drought and during dry summer months, with spring flowering possibly