Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Arrow-leaf Baslamroot
Balsamorhiza sagittata
The photo above shows arrow-leaf balsamroot from a BLM site near Hog Lake, east of Sprague, WA..........April 29, 2006.
Note the grayish cast to the leaves.
Characteristics:
Arrowleaf balsamroot is a widespread perennial arising from a deep, woody
taproot. The leaves are numerous, primarily in a basal rosette. The arrowhead
leaves are somewhat woolly or felt-like on both sides of the leaf. The wooliness
of the leaves seems to be rather variable, as evidenced by the photos on this
page. Younger leaves tend to be more silvery (see photo below), with older leaves
appearing greener and more glabrate in age. The leaf margins are entire (smooth).
The basal leaves are long-petioled with cordate leaf bases. They are up to to
30 cm long and 15 cm wide. The stems are few to numerous, ranging from 20-80 cm tall. They usually have
several very reduced, narrow leaves on the stems. The flower heads tend to be
solitary. The heads are large (10-12 cm wide) with 8-25 yellow rays (most commonly
either 13 or 21) surrounding a darker disk. The rays are individually about
2.5-4 cm long. The involucre is fairly woolly-hairy. The involucral bracts are
long and narrow, with outer ones slightly longer than the inner..
Habitat:
Arrow-leaf balsamroot is found on open hillsides and flats, usually in deep,
well-drained soil, typically with big sagebrush or bunchgrass or in open woods.
Range:
Arrow-leaf balsamroot may be found from southern British Columbia, mostly
east of the Cascades south to east-central California, east to Alberta and northern
Arizona.
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Close-ups of the flower head and woolly involucral bracts of arrowleaf balsamroot as seen along Reecer Creek Road, Wenatchee National Forest..........June 5, 2009.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot as seen along Reecer Creek Road, Wenatchee National Forest.........June 5, 2009.
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The photo above shows arrow-leaf balsamroot from a BLM site near Hog Lake, east of Sprague, WA..........April 29, 2006. Note the silvery-grayish cast to the leaves. The photo at right shows a close-up of the involucre of arrow-leaf balsamroot as seen along the Round Mountain South Trail #805 near the south trailhead at FS Road #42, Ochoco National Forest.........May 28, 2016.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot observed along the Stubblefield Trail about one-half mile west of Stubblefield Lake, Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge......May 8, 2019.
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The photo at left shows arrow-leaf balsamroot as seen near the Odessa Craters several miles to the north of Odessa, WA........April 28, 2007. Note that the leaves appear greener than those seen above. The photo at right shows arrowleaf balsamroot as seen along forest service road 35 near the junction of road 3517, Wenatchee National Forest..........June 4, 2013.
Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming on ridges above Woods Bay, MT..........May 26, 2023.
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These two photos show arrowleaf balsamroot as seen at Buckhorn Lookout on the western edge of the Imnaha Canyon in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest..........June 27, 2008. Note the woolly hairs covering the bases of the involucral bracts in the photo at right.
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Additional close-up detail photos of arrowleaf balsamroot as seen along Oregon Highway 218 about 1 mile east of the summit between Fossil, OR and Clarno, OR...........May 16, 2010.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot as seen (left) along the trail from the Celebration Mine to Baldy Mt., Strawberry Mountain Wilderness..............July 1, 2010. The photo at right shows arrowleaf balsamroot on the east-facing slopes of the Hart Mt. ridgeline west of Hot Springs Campground, Hart Mt. National Antelope Refuge...........June 9, 2016.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming (left) in dry ponderosa pine forest about one mile uphill to the east of the Painted Rocks trailhead, Little Spokane River Natural Area...............May 6, 2012. The photo at right shows arrowleaf balsamroot blooming in dry ponderosa pine forest atop the ridge near the Knothead Overlook of the Little Spokand and Spokane Rivers, Little Spokane Natural Area.........May 9, 2016.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot as seen along the Lookout Mountain Trail #804 atop Lookout Mountain, Ochoco National Forest.........June 25, 2017.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming along the Line Butter Trail near the south summit of Lookout Mountain, Ochoco National Forest........June 22, 2017.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming on scablands soils along Trail #808A, Lookout Mountain, Ochoco National Forest........May 26, 2018. One can clearly observe the woolly involucral bracts of this species.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming in open conifer woodlands along FS Road 4230, southern Ochoco National Forest......May 19, 2018.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming in balds along the Lick Creek Trail #1809, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area......July 17, 2019.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot blooming in open ponderosa pine forest on ancient Missoula Flood sandbars near the Little Spokane River (near the old Spokane Country Club), Spokane County, WA.......May 7, 2019. Note the extra woolly involucral bracts.
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Arrowleaf balsamroot in bloom in open ponderosa pine forest along the Fremont National Recreation Trail #160 on the eastern slopes of Crook Peak, Fremont-Winema National Forest.......June 28, 2019.
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The photo at left shows a leaf of Balsamhoriza sagittata from the Reecer Creek
Road, Wenatchee N.F.........June 22, 1997. The photo at right shows a drying involucre of arrowleaf balsamroot, showing how woolly it can be even as it dries. Photo from a prehistoric Missoula Flood sand Bar between the Little Spokane River and Five Mile Butte, Spokane County, WA......June 26, 2022.
Paul Slichter