Balsamorhiza hookeri

Hooker's balsam root

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Hooker's balsam root is a California native perennial found in eastern California Ranges, northern Sierra Nevada, and Modoc Plateau on dry slopes and valleys at elevations of 1,300 to 1,800 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces yellow ray flowers 1.5 to 3 centimeters long with distinctive daisy-like heads. Growing with stems 5 to 40 centimeters tall that are densely hairy and becoming nearly smooth with age, it forms robust basal rosettes. Its basal leaves are large, ranging 20 to 40 centimeters long, with complex pinnately divided blades that are finely hairy and grayish-green, featuring linear to oblong segments that are often further subdivided. The plant produces fruit 5 to 7 millimeters long, characteristic of its sunflower family lineage.

Habitat: dry slopes, valleys

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1300-1800 m

Bioregions: e CaRH, n SNH, MP

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.