''Balsamorhiza'' is a genus of plants in the family

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

known commonly as balsamroots. These are perennials with fleshy taproots and

caudices A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is ...

bearing erect stems and large, basal leaves. Atop the tall stems are showy yellow sunflower-like blooms. Balsamroots are native to western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

(

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

). Native Americans used the sticky sap of this plant as a topical antiseptic for minor wounds. The entire plant is edible and nutritious, but not necessarily enjoyable because it contains a bitter, strongly pine-scented sap. The large taproots produced by ''

Balsamorhiza sagittata ''Balsamorhiza sagittata'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae known by the common name Arrowleaf Balsamroot. It is widespread across western Canada and much of the western United State ...

'' are edible and were harvested, dried, and ground into a starchy flour by Native Americans when other food plants were scarce. The plants' large taproots are reported to be very palatable and far less bitter than the above-ground parts of the plant.Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, Gregory L. Tilford, The plant grows on dry hillsides and dry open meadows throughout the Mountain West of North America. The plant can be easily confused with species belonging to the genus ''

Wyethia ''Wyethia'' is a genus of North American flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. First published by Thomas Nuttall in J. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia vol.7 on page 39 in 1834. These plants are commonly referred to as mule's ears. They are sho ...

'' (mule's ears); and ''Wyethia'' and ''Balsamorhiza'' tend to have very similar appearances and flowering habits. ''Wyethia'' species are easily distinguished from ''Balsamorhiza'' due to their very sharply lanced leaves which lack the ''fuzzy silver gray'' appearance of ''Balsamorhiza'' species. ''

'' is the most common and widespread species in the genus within the Mountain West of North America. Palatable to wildlife and livestock, this is a herb that decreases under grazing. Though once covering much of the arid west in spring, this common forb has become uncommon and even disappeared in some areas like the Snake River Plains. The presence of this plant can be used as an indicator of overall range health—fewer plants and flowers indicate over-utilization of pastures and/or allotments. Hillsides covered with these flowers and perennial

bunchgrasses Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perennia ...

and sagebrush can quickly become wastelands of cheatgrass and tumblemustard if cattle or other stock overgraze, consuming the herb and grass energy reserves again and again until the plants individually die, while crushing their only shade.

Species and nothospecies

There are about 13 species and two

nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...

: * ''

Balsamorhiza × bonseri ''Balsamorhiza'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae known commonly as balsamroots. These are perennials with fleshy taproots and caudices bearing erect stems and large, basal leaves. Atop the tall stems are showy yellow sunflower-like ...

'' - Washington State * ''

Balsamorhiza careyana ''Balsamorhiza careyana'' is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae known by the common name Carey's balsamroot. It is native to northwestern United States Washington and Oregon where it grows in arid and ...

'' - Carey's balsamroot - Washington, Oregon * ''

Balsamorhiza deltoidea ''Balsamorhiza deltoidea'' is a species of flowering plant in the sunflower tribe of the plant family Asteraceae known by the common name deltoid balsamroot. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California, where it gro ...

'' - deltoid balsamroot - British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California * ''

Balsamorhiza hispidula ''Balsamorhiza hispidula '' is a North American species of plants in the sunflower tribe within the aster family. It is native to western United States, primarily the Great Basin and other dry, relatively flat terrain. It has been found in Idah ...

'' - Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Arizona * '' Balsamorhiza hookeri'' - Hooker's balsamroot - Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona * ''

Balsamorhiza incana ''Balsamorhiza incana '' (hoary balsamroot) is a North American species of plants in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae. It is native to the northwestern United States, in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, and Oregon. ''Balsamorh ...

'' - hoary balsamroot - Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington * ''

Balsamorhiza lanata ''Balsamorhiza lanata'', with the common name lanate balsamroot, is a species of plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae native to California. Distribution The plant is endemic to Northern California. It is only found within Sis ...

'' - lanate balsamroot - Oregon, California * ''

Balsamorhiza macrolepis ''Balsamorhiza macrolepis'' is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae, known by the common name California balsamroot. It is found only in California, where it grows in dry, open habitat, mostly in mountain ...

'' - California balsamroot - California * ''

Balsamorhiza macrophylla ''Balsamorhiza macrophylla '' (cutleaf balsamroot) is a North American species of plants in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae. The species is native to the northwestern United States, in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, and Oregon. It ...

'' - cutleaf balsamroot - Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Utah * ''

Balsamorhiza rosea ''Balsamorhiza rosea '' (rosy balsamroot) is a North American species of plants in the sunflower tribe within the aster family. It is native to the northwestern United States, in Washington and Oregon. ''Balsamorhiza rosea '' is an herb up to ...

'' - rosy balsamroot - Washington, Oregon * ''

'' - arrowleaf balsamroot - British Columbia, Alberta, much of western USA * ''

Balsamorhiza sericea ''Balsamorhiza sericea'' is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae known by the common name silky balsamroot. It is native to the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, with a ...

'' - silky balsamroot - Oregon, California * ''

Balsamorhiza serrata ''Balsamorhiza serrata'' (serrate balsamroot) is a North American species of plants in the tribe Heliantheae of the family Asteraceae. Distribution and habitat The plant is native to the Western United States, including the Great Basin region. ...

'' - serrate balsamroot or toothed balsamroot - Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California * ''

Balsamorhiza terebinthacea ''Balsamorhiza'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae known commonly as balsamroots. These are perennials with fleshy taproots and caudices bearing erect stems and large, basal leaves. Atop the tall stems are showy yellow sunflower-like ...

'' - Washington, Oregon, California * ''

Balsamorhiza × tomentosa ''Balsamorhiza'' is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae known commonly as balsamroots. These are perennials with fleshy taproots and caudices bearing erect stems and large, basal leaves. Atop the tall stems are showy yellow sunflower-like ...

'' - Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon

References

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Balsamorhiza''
— ''species + images''. *
USDA Plants Profile for ''Balsamorhiza''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2473291 Asteraceae genera Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Western United States Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Taxa named by Thomas Nuttall