Burke: Balsamorhiza hookeri vs. Balsamorhiza incana

	Balsamorhiza hookeri	Balsamorhiza incana
	hairy balsamroot, hare's head balsamroot, Hooker's balsamroot	hoary balsamroot, woolly balsamroot
Habit	Perennial from a carrot-like taproot, the lax, nearly naked stems 0.6-4 dm. tall.	Perennial from a carrot-like taproot, 1.5-7 dm. tall.
Leaves	Basal leaves 1-4 dm. long, pinnatifid, the divisions entire to deeply toothed; stem leaves often with one or more inconspicuous, linear or pinnatifid bracts near the base.	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 solitary; involucre bracts linear to ovate, long-hairy at least marginally; rays 10-16, 1.5-3.5 cm. long.	Heads solitary, large; involucre very woolly, its bracts ovate or lanceolate; rays about 13, pale yellow, 3-6 cm. long.
Fruits	Achenes glabrous.	Achenes glabrous.

	Balsamorhiza hookeri	Balsamorhiza incana
Identification notes	Our other species with pinnatifid leaves, Balsamorhiza incana, is silky-woolly throughout, while B. hookeri is sparcely hairy.	The silky-woolly hairs throughout the plant should separate B. incana from our other species with pinnatifid leaves, B. hookeri.
Flowering time	April-June	May-July
Habitat	Dry, open areas at low to moderate elevations, usually in lithosol (rocky, cobbly soil).	Mesic meadows and slopes at lower to moderate elevations in the mountains.
Distribution	Occurring east of the Cascades crest in central Washington; Washington to California, east to western Montana, southern Idaho, and Nevada. [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. careyana × B. hookeri, B. deltoidea, 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: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, 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

hairy balsamroot, hare's head balsamroot, Hooker's balsamroot

hoary balsamroot, woolly balsamroot

Habit

Perennial from a carrot-like taproot, the lax, nearly naked stems 0.6-4 dm. tall.

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

Leaves

Basal leaves 1-4 dm. long, pinnatifid, the divisions entire to deeply toothed;

stem leaves often with one or more inconspicuous, linear or pinnatifid bracts near the base.

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 solitary;

involucre bracts linear to ovate, long-hairy at least marginally;

rays 10-16, 1.5-3.5 cm. long.

Heads solitary, large;

involucre very woolly, its bracts ovate or lanceolate;

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

Fruits

Achenes glabrous.

Balsamorhiza hookeri

Balsamorhiza incana

Identification notes

Our other species with pinnatifid leaves, Balsamorhiza incana, is silky-woolly throughout, while B. hookeri is sparcely hairy.

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

Flowering time

April-June

May-July

Habitat

Dry, open areas at low to moderate elevations, usually in lithosol (rocky, cobbly soil).

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

Distribution

Occurring east of the Cascades crest in central Washington; Washington to California, east to western Montana, southern Idaho, and Nevada.

[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