Balsamorhiza hookeri (Hooker's balsamroot) is a North American species of perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It grows in the Great Basin and neighboring regions in the Western United States.[2] It is found in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.[3][4][5]
| Balsamorhiza hookeri | |
|---|---|
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| Balsamorhiza hookeri in flower on Badger Mountain, Douglas County Washington | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Balsamorhiza |
| Species: | B. hookeri
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| Binomial name | |
| Balsamorhiza hookeri | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description edit
The leaves are compound pinnate, with the leaflet divisions also divided or deeply lobed. Basal leaves are hairy and may be up to 16 inches (41 cm) long.[2] There may be one to several stems, which are leafless and hairy, and topped by one flower each.[2][6]
It blooms from April to July. Flower heads are 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 cm) wide, and sunflower-like, with 10–21 fringe-tipped ray flowers and numerous disc flowers.[2]
Distribution and habitat edit
It grows to 9,000 feet (2,700 m) in dry, grassy meadows in sagebrush steppe and montane plant communities in the Great Basin.[2] Is it common at much lower elevations in central Washington State scablands.
Ecology edit
It tends to grow in rockier habitats than its cousin, arrow-leaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata).[2] It hybridizes with arrow-leaf balsamroot, which has arrow shaped leaves.[2] The result is a plant with leaves that are arrow shaped, but also deeply divided.[2]
References edit
- ^ "Balsamorhiza hookeri (Hook.) Nutt.". The Global Compositae Checklist (GCC) – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ a b c d e f g h Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., ISBN 0-7627-3805-7. p. 115.
- ^ "Balsamorhiza hookeri". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014.
- ^ "Balsamorhiza hookeri". Calflora. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database.
- ^ Weber, William A. (2006). "Balsamorhiza hookeri". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 21. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ Taylor, Ronald J. (1994) [1992]. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary (rev. ed.). Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Pub. Co. p. 148. ISBN 0-87842-280-3. OCLC 25708726.
External links edit
Media related to Balsamorhiza hookeri at Wikimedia Commons
