bitterroot

[bit-er-root, -roo t] /ˈbɪt ərˌrut, -ˌrʊt/

noun

a plant, Lewisia rediviva, of the purslane family, having pink flowers and fleshy roots that are edible when young: the state flower of Montana.

Origin of bitterroot

1825-1835

An Americanism dating back to 1825-35; bitter + root¹

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for bitterroot

Historical Examples

This took place in the bitterroot Mountains in Idaho, in 1902.

Wild Animals at Home Ernest Thompson Seton
I have examined a number of mice from the bitterroot Valley in western Montana and the color value for 12 adults is 2.7.

Subspeciation in the Meadow Mouse, Microtus pennsylvanicus, in Wyoming, Colorado, and Adjacent Areas Sydney Anderson
bitterroot was dug on prairie hills, wild potatoes were found in the foothills, and the wild onion grew in the valley floors.

Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society Robert F. Murphy
The average of all the specimens from the bitterroot Valley is a little nearer oribasus.

American Weasels E. Raymond Hall

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