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Arrowleaf
Balsamroot
Common
Name(s):
Arrowleaf balsamroot
Scientific
Name:
Balsamorhiza
sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.
Scientific
Name Synonyms:
None known
Symbol:
BASA3
Description:
Life
Span: Perennial
Origin:
Native
Season: Cool
Growth Characteristics:
A
1 to 2 feet tall forb, growing from a branched, thickened, woody
taproot with a shreddy appearance. The taproot has a pleasant (balsam)
odor. Stems are erect, ascending, and wooly. It flowers May to August,
reproduces from seeds.
Flowers/Inflorescence:
Large,
yellow, and sunflower-like, mostly solitary at the end of a 9 to
24 inch scapose stem.
Fruits/Seeds:Fruit
is a glabrous achene.
Leaves: Arrow-shaped,
gray-green, white-wooly, long-stalked, and basal.
Ecological
Adaptations:
Arrowleaf
balsamroot is found in open, fairly dry situations such as southerly
exposures, open ridges, and parks throughout the sagebrush, oakbrush,
serviceberry, and ponderosa pine types. It is usually found at elevations
from 4500 to 7000 feet. It is strongly drought resistant, has good
winter-hardiness, tolerates semi-shade, and is strongly tolerant
of grazing and trampling.
Soils: Most
abundant in well-drained soils, but found on gravelly to clayey
soils.
Associated Species:
Big
sagebrush, bluebunch
wheatgrass, cheatgrass,
lupine, deathcamas,
and penstemon.
Uses and
Management:
Arrowleaf
balsamroot provides good forage for sheep and big game, and fair
for cattle. The flowers are especially palatable, but all portions
of the plant except the coarser stalks are eaten. Horses are especially
fond of the flowers. The plants are eaten throughout the grazing
season but are usually much more palatable during the spring and
early summer, becoming more tough and dry later in the year.
Arrowleaf balsamroot will increase when grazed by cattle, but decrease
when grazed by sheep or deer on winter ranges.
Cheyenne Indian boiled roots, stems, and leaves, and drank the decoction
for stomach pains and headaches; they also steamed the plant and
inhaled the vapors for the same purposes. Ripe seeds were pounded
into flour. The fleshy, edible roots were often eaten raw or boiled.
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