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Glite Dictionary
bitterroot

bitterroot

2 9.9
A small Rocky Mountain plant with thick edible roots and pink or white flowers
  • noun
  • /ˈbɪtərˌrut/
  • US
translation icon : bitterroot
  • In early spring, I often search for bitterroot growing among the rocks in Montana.
  • Bitterroot Valley
  • Montana's Bitterroot

Examples

  • The state flower of Montana, the bitterroot, is known for its striking blooms in the wild.

  • Such peaceful relations were necessary if Mormon colonies were to be established further north into the Bitterroot Valley.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The release of wolves into the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness was lauded as an environmental triumph.

    Academic text (2000)

  • I would live in a canvas wall tent in the middle of the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness from mid-October to mid-June.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Some are Pend d'Oreilles, like John; the rest are Bitterroot Salish (also called Flatheads).

    Academic text (2007)

  • The currents of the Clark Fork and Blackfoot Rivers and the granite walls of the Bitterroot Mountains shaped my upbringing.

    Blog text (25)

  • On the other side of the buffering spine of the Bitterroot Range, people were waking up to alarm clocks, driving to work with mugs of coffee sloshing between their legs.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The people of this place, years ago, were Wanapum, gatherers of bitterroot, camas, and goose eggs, fishers of salmon and eels.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The musician Huey Lewis (real name Hugh Cregg) bought a 1,000-acre ranch in Montana's Bitterroot Valley in the mid-1980s.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Pend d'Oreille elder John Peter Paul (1909-2001) stands near the spot in Montana's upper Bitterroot Valley where the Salish tribe first encountered the Lewis and Clark expedition.

    Academic text (2007)

Synonyms

Lewisia rediviva
vsbitterroot
  • Specialized
9.9

A low plant with pink flowers and thick, starchy roots from the Rocky Mountains

is the everyday common name for the same plant rather than the Latin form

Surface Forms

bitterroot singular
bitterroots plural

Morphology

bitterroot = bitter + root (semi-transparent) = bitter + root

Formed from the transparent components 'bitter' + 'root', but as a botanical name for a particular species its referent is specialized and not fully predictable for learners.

Etymology

Bitterroot is a simple English name made from bitter ('sharp in taste') and root ('underground part of a plant'). Early settlers called the plant this because it has a small edible root that tasted bitter, so the name helps you remember a low, flowering plant known for its edible, bitter-tasting root.