Lewis Monkeyflower

August 12, 1805

During our cross through the Lemhi Pass I stumbled upon a new flower.  It was beautiful in appearance and had the visual aspects of a monkey thus the name Lewis Monkeyflower.  From my measurement the plant grows 1-3 feet in length.  The flowers are a vivid purple they are trumpet shaped growing 1.3-2 inches long.  Growing from the stem are leaves 1-4 inches in length.

Water Birch

August 3, 1805

While walking along the Jefferson River I discovered a new member of the Birch family, the Water Birch.  It is a tree/shrub that thrives at the banks of rivers and tree thus the name Water Birch.  Multiple trunks protrude up to 25 feet in length.  The bark on the tree is dark red ranging to black.  Oval shaped leaves grow from the short branches along with tiny yellow flowers when flowering.

Leafy Thistle

July 23, 1805

Today at the Beautiful Three forks we found a new spiky plant that I named the leafy thistle.  This plant will most likely become another pain we will have to face in the journey ahead.  Just stepping on one plant will result in multiple thorns in one's moccasins.  The plant has a beautiful pink flower that grown around 5-6 cm in length, but don't get fooled by its beauty.  Along the leaves and stem our tiny pricks which cause great discomfort when stepped on.  The Leafy Thistle grows wildly and appears to be unwanted by other plants.

White Squaw Currant

June 18, 1805

Today at the magnificent Great Falls we discovered a new shrub and named it the White Squaw Currant.  The plant has small fan shaped leaves that are accompanied by small white trumpet shaped flowers.  It has red berries which I am not sure are edible.  I noticed that it had a musky odor when I crushed it between my hands.  From my measurements it appeared to be approximately 5 feet tall.

Hail!

June 23, 1805

I hate hail!  I hate it!  Its terrible.  Little tiny ice pellets falling from the sky every wear you go, there's no escaping it. It like there's a bunch of people up in the sky dumbing musket balls on you 24/7.  I cant sleep, I cant work, I cant function.  The hail has slowed our progress down tremendously and I hope these constant storms will not endanger the expedition.

Tansy

June 6, 1805

The tansy is a unique plant, not the typical daisy you would find in a meadow.  We came upon it along the Teton River.  It is ugly nor beautiful but different in its very own way.  The plant has a very thin and long stem with leaves 4-8 inches long.  The stem leads up to a cluster of yellow button shape flowers that almost make a small dome over they pant.  It grows up to 2-3 feet in length.  

Fragile Prickly Pear

May 20, 1805

This plant has been giving the crew pain on a stem.  We get back to camp and pull the thorns out of our worn moccasins.  The plant grows in a large low-lying clump of spiny jointed stems that are impossible to avoid when walking through the prairie.  The plant is deadly but beautiful with flowers that vary from light pink to orange.  From my measurements the plant is approximately 8-10 inches tall and 1-3 feet wide.