Flora of North America species comparison

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Balsamorhiza sericea

Balsamorhiza sagittata

silky balsamroot, silvery balsamroot

arrow-leaf balsamroot
Habit Plants 10–30(–40) cm. Plants (15–)20–40(–65) cm.
Basal leaves

blades silvery, lanceolate or lance-ovate, 9–30 × 2–7 cm (1-pinnatifid, lobes oblong to oblanceolate, 5–35 × 3–17 mm), bases cuneate, ultimate margins usually entire (plane or weakly revolute, obscurely, if at all, ciliate), apices rounded to acute, faces densely sericeous.

blades ± silvery to white or gray-green, rounded-deltate or deltate to triangular-deltate, 5–25 × 3–15 cm, bases ± cordate, margins entire, apices acute to attenuate, faces sericeous, tomentose, tomentulose, or velutinous (at least abaxially, usually gland-dotted as well), sometimes glabrescent.
Involucres

campanulate to hemispheric, 11–20+ mm diam.

hemispheric to turbinate, 12–25 mm diam.
Ray laminae

15–20 mm (adaxially puberulous on veins).

20–40 mm.
Outer phyllaries

broadly ovate to triangular-ovate, 12–20 mm, slightly surpassing inner, apices acuminate to attenuate (margins not ciliate).

lanceolate to oblanceolate or linear, (15–)20–25(–30+) mm, equaling or surpassing inner, apices acute to acuminate.
Heads

borne singly.

usually borne singly, sometimes 2–3+.
2n

= 38.

Balsamorhiza sericea

Balsamorhiza sagittata
Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering (Apr–)May–Jun(–Jul).
Habitat Serpentine outcrops, among surface rocks, in crevices, hillsides, dry streamsides among cobbles Openings, banks, flats, meadows, ridges, sagebrush scrub, conifer forests
Elevation 400–1800 m (1300–5900 ft) (100–)900–2500(–3000) m ((300–)3000–8200(–9800) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; SDak
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Balsamorhiza sericea hybridizes with B. deltoidea.

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

Balsamorhiza sagittata grows east of the Cascade-Sierra axis to the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills. It is one of the more spectacular of all spring-flowering plants in the northwestern United States. Hybrids occur along lines of contact between B. sagittata and almost all species of sect. Balsamorhiza except B. macrophylla (a high polyploid).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 21, p. 96. FNA vol. 21, p. 95.
Parent taxa Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Balsamorhiza > subg. Balsamorhiza Asteraceae > tribe Heliantheae > subtribe Ecliptinae > Balsamorhiza > subg. Artorhiza
Sibling taxa
B. careyana, B. deltoidea, B. hispidula, B. hookeri, B. incana, B. lanata, B. macrolepis, B. macrophylla, B. rosea, B. sagittata, B. serrata
B. careyana, B. deltoidea, B. hispidula, B. hookeri, B. incana, B. lanata, B. macrolepis, B. macrophylla, B. rosea, B. sericea, B. serrata
Synonyms Buphthalmum sagittatum, B. helianthoides, Espeletia helianthoides, Espeletia sagittata
Name authority W. A. Weber: Phytologia 50: 358. (1982) (Pursh) Nuttall: Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc., n. s. 7: 350. (1840)
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).



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