Burke: Balsamorhiza careyana vs. Balsamorhiza rosea

	Balsamorhiza careyana	Balsamorhiza rosea
	Carey's balsamroot	rosy 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 simple crown, 0.6-3 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 petiolate, the blade deltoid with rounded teeth or nearly pinnatifid, 3-20 cm. long and 1-10 cm. wide, with short, appressed hairs aligned in one direction, prominately netted-veined; stems with a pair of linear leaves near the base.
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 small, the rays 1-2.5 cm long but often 1 cm. broad, usually 10-16, becoming roseate in age.
Fruits	Achenes hairy	Achenes with appressed hairs aligned in one direction.

	Balsamorhiza careyana	Balsamorhiza rosea
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 short, broad ray flowers that become orange-red with age are unique to this species of Balsamorhiza.
Flowering time	March-July	April-May
Habitat	Open places, but not on lithosol, in the plains, foothills, and lower mountains.	Dry, rocky slopes at low elevation.
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 south-central Washington; south-central Washington to northeastern Oregon. [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. incana, 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 rosea

Carey's balsamroot

rosy 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 simple crown, 0.6-3 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 petiolate, the blade deltoid with rounded teeth or nearly pinnatifid, 3-20 cm. long and 1-10 cm. wide, with short, appressed hairs aligned in one direction, prominately netted-veined;

stems with a pair of linear leaves near the base.

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 small, the rays 1-2.5 cm long but often 1 cm. broad, usually 10-16, becoming roseate in age.

Fruits

Achenes hairy

Achenes with appressed hairs aligned in one direction.

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 short, broad ray flowers that become orange-red with age are unique to this species of Balsamorhiza.

Flowering time

March-July

April-May

Habitat

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

Dry, rocky slopes at low elevation.

Distribution