Balsamorhiza macrolepis

Big scale balsam root

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Big scale balsam root is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the Sierra Nevada Foothills, central Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, and eastern San Francisco Bay Area in open grassy or rocky slopes and valleys at elevations generally up to 1,400 meters. Flowering from March to July, this plant produces yellow ray flowers 2 to 3 centimeters long with distinctive large-scale phyllaries. Growing with stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall that are finely hairy and gland-dotted, it forms prominent basal clusters. Its basal leaves are 15 to 40 centimeters long, pinnately divided into linear to ovate segments, with a green to lightly silvery appearance and fine strigose texture. The fruit is 7 to 8 millimeters long with lance-ovate phyllaries that range from 20 to 40 millimeters in length.

Habitat: Open grassy or rocky slopes, valleys

Bloom period: Mar-Jul

Elevation: generally <= 1400 m

Bioregions: SNF, c SNH, ScV, e SnFrB.

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