Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Balsamorhiza careyana

Balsamorhiza hispidula

Carey's balsamroot

hairy balsamroot, hispid balsamroot
Habit Plants (15–)20–60 cm. Plants 6–40 cm.
Leaves

blades bright green, narrowly lance-elliptic to lanceolate, (6–)15–25(–40) × (3–)5–9+ cm (1–2-pinnatifid, primary lobes lanceolate to oblanceolate, 10–45 × 2–15 mm, secondary lobes usually divergent, antrorse), bases ± cuneate, ultimate margins usually entire (± revolute and/or thickened, often ciliate), apices acute to attenuate, faces ± hispidulous to hirtellous (gland-dotted as well; veins ± scabrous).
Basal leaves

blades green, rounded-deltate or deltate to triangular-deltate, 15–25 × 6–15 cm, bases cordate or hastate to truncate, margins usually entire, sometimes crenate (to dentate near bases), apices acute to attenuate, faces finely hispidulous to hirtellous (gland-dotted as well).

Involucres

hemispheric to turbinate or campanulate, 12–20 mm diam.

campanulate to hemispheric 10–25 mm diam.
Ray laminae

20–30(–40) mm (cypselae strigose or glabrous).

15–40 mm (abaxially glabrous).
Outer phyllaries

oblong to lanceolate or linear, 15–25 mm, usually surpassing inner, apices acute to attenuate.

lanceolate to linear, 12–20 mm, not surpassing inner, apices acute to attenuate (margins often ciliate).
Heads

usually (2–)3+, sometimes borne singly.

borne singly.
2n

= 38.

Balsamorhiza careyana

Balsamorhiza hispidula
Phenology Flowering (Mar–)May–Jun(–Jul). Flowering Apr–May.
Habitat Dry scablands, semi-desert soils, openings in pine forests Basalt scablands and desert-steppe areas, juniper and sagebrush scrublands
Elevation 500–1000 m (1600–3300 ft) 1800–2500 m (5900–8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Hybrids involving Balsamorhiza careyana and B. deltoidea occur near the Columbia River Gorge; intermediates are found to the east and south. In northern Oregon, plants in some populations have glabrous cypselae and some populations are mixed. The hairiness may come from B. rosea; B. rosea and B. careyana may hybridize profusely, producing mostly plants with the stature of B. careyana and with the relatively short, brick-red ray corollas of B. rosea. Hybridization also occurs, occasionally, between B. careyana and B. sagittata; B. careyana also hybridizes with any species of sect. Balsamorhiza with which it comes in contact. Plants called Balsamorhiza careyana var. intermedia usually have crenate leaf margins and glabrous cypselae.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Distribution of Balsamorhiza hispidula is highly disrupted in the southern part of its range.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 95. FNA vol. 21, p. 98.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Balsamorhiza > subg. Artorhiza Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Balsamorhiza > subg. Balsamorhiza
Sibling taxa
B. deltoidea, B. hispidula, B. hookeri, B. incana, B. lanata, B. macrolepis, B. macrophylla, B. rosea, B. sagittata, B. sericea, B. serrata
B. careyana, B. deltoidea, B. hookeri, B. incana, B. lanata, B. macrolepis, B. macrophylla, B. rosea, B. sagittata, B. sericea, B. serrata
Synonyms B. careyana var. intermedia B. hookeri var. hispidula
Name authority A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 81. (1849) W. M. Sharp: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 22: 137, fig. 3, plate 5. (1935)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Fabaceae, Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers