Burke: Balsamorhiza careyana vs. Balsamorhiza incana

	Balsamorhiza careyana	Balsamorhiza incana
	Carey's balsamroot	hoary balsamroot, woolly balsamroot
Habit	Perennial from a woody, deep-seated taproot, with the numerous basal leaves and stems 2-10 dm. long forming a bushy plant.	Perennial from a carrot-like taproot, 1.5-7 dm. tall.
Leaves	Basal leaves with long petioles, the blade mostly triangular-hastate, up to 30 cm. long and 15 cm. wide, green, firm, veiny, entire and often scabrous; stem leaves few, narrow and strongly reduced.	Basal leaves 1-4.5 dm. long, pinnatifid, the divisions 1.5-6 cm. long, entire or with a few coarse teeth, up to 4 cm. wide; a pair of reduced, pinnatifid cauline leaves borne just above the base of the stem; leaves silky with long, soft, tangled hairs.
Flowers	Heads several, small, the disk rarely more than 2.5 cm. wide; involucre only slightly woolly, the outer bracts seldom much enlarged; rays 8 or 13, 2-4 cm. long, persistent on the achenes.	Heads solitary, large; involucre very woolly, its bracts ovate or lanceolate; rays about 13, pale yellow, 3-6 cm. long.
Fruits	Achenes hairy	Achenes glabrous.

	Balsamorhiza careyana	Balsamorhiza incana
Identification notes	The several small heads help separate B. careyana from B. sagitatta; also, the leaves on B. careyana feel like sandpaper, while the leaves on B. sagitata are soft and silky. However, the two species hybridize, and numerous intermediate forms are found.	The silky-woolly hairs throughout the plant should separate B. incana from our other species with pinnatifid leaves, B. hookeri.
Flowering time	March-July	May-July
Habitat	Open places, but not on lithosol, in the plains, foothills, and lower mountains.	Mesic meadows and slopes at lower to moderate elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to central Oregon. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in the southeastern counties in Washington; southeastern Washington to adjacent Oregon, east through Idaho to Montana and Wyoming. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	B. ×bonseri, B. careyana × B. hookeri, B. deltoidea, B. hookeri, B. hookeri × B. sagittata, B. incana, B. rosea, B. sagittata, B. serrata, B. ×terebinthacea, B. ×tomentosa	B. ×bonseri, B. careyana, B. careyana × B. hookeri, B. deltoidea, B. hookeri, B. hookeri × B. sagittata, B. rosea, B. sagittata, B. serrata, B. ×terebinthacea, B. ×tomentosa
Web links	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Balsamorhiza incana

Carey's balsamroot

hoary balsamroot, woolly balsamroot

Habit

Perennial from a woody, deep-seated taproot, with the numerous basal leaves and stems 2-10 dm. long forming a bushy plant.

Perennial from a carrot-like taproot, 1.5-7 dm. tall.

Leaves

Basal leaves with long petioles, the blade mostly triangular-hastate, up to 30 cm. long and 15 cm. wide, green, firm, veiny, entire and often scabrous;

stem leaves few, narrow and strongly reduced.

Basal leaves 1-4.5 dm. long, pinnatifid, the divisions 1.5-6 cm. long, entire or with a few coarse teeth, up to 4 cm. wide; a pair of reduced, pinnatifid cauline leaves borne just above the base of the stem;

leaves silky with long, soft, tangled hairs.

Flowers

Heads several, small, the disk rarely more than 2.5 cm. wide;

involucre only slightly woolly, the outer bracts seldom much enlarged;

rays 8 or 13, 2-4 cm. long, persistent on the achenes.

Heads solitary, large;

involucre very woolly, its bracts ovate or lanceolate;

rays about 13, pale yellow, 3-6 cm. long.

Fruits

Achenes hairy

Achenes glabrous.

Balsamorhiza careyana

Balsamorhiza incana

Identification notes

The several small heads help separate B. careyana from B. sagitatta; also, the leaves on B. careyana feel like sandpaper, while the leaves on B. sagitata are soft and silky. However, the two species hybridize, and numerous intermediate forms are found.

The silky-woolly hairs throughout the plant should separate B. incana from our other species with pinnatifid leaves, B. hookeri.

Flowering time

March-July

May-July

Habitat

Open places, but not on lithosol, in the plains, foothills, and lower mountains.

Mesic meadows and slopes at lower to moderate elevations in the mountains.

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in Washington; southern British Columbia to central Oregon.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in the southeastern counties in Washington; southeastern Washington to adjacent Oregon, east through Idaho to Montana and Wyoming.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Origin

Native

Conservation status

Not of concern

Sibling taxa