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balsamroot

Balsamorhiza hookeri

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

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

Flowers

Heads solitary;

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

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

Fruits

Achenes glabrous.

Balsamorhiza

Balsamorhiza hookeri

Identification notes Our other species with pinnatifid leaves, Balsamorhiza incana, is silky-woolly throughout, while B. hookeri is sparcely hairy.
Flowering time April-June
Habitat Dry, open areas at low to moderate elevations, usually in lithosol (rocky, cobbly soil).
Distribution
[BONAP county map]
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]
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
Subordinate taxa
B. ×bonseri, B. careyana, B. careyana × B. hookeri, B. deltoidea, B. hookeri, B. hookeri × B. sagittata, B. incana, B. rosea, B. sagittata, B. serrata, B. ×terebinthacea, B. ×tomentosa
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