Balsamorhiza serrata

Serrated balsamroot

Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 2B.3

Serrated balsamroot is a California native perennial ranked 2B.3 by CNPS, found in northern Mono County's sagebrush scrub and forest openings at elevations of 1,400 to 1,500 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces yellow ray flowers with disk flowers 7 to 8 millimeters long, creating distinctive daisy-like heads up to 4 centimeters wide. Growing with stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall that are glandular and softly hairy, it develops a robust base with prominent foliage. Its basal leaves are 8 to 20 centimeters long, broadly lance-shaped to ovate, with serrated edges and a green surface that feels bristly or rough to the touch. The plant's distinctive serrated leaf margins and soft-textured stems make it a characteristic element of its high-elevation sagebrush habitat.

Habitat: Sagebrush scrub, forest openings, meadow margins

Bloom period: Apr-Jun

Elevation: 1400-1500 m

Bioregions: n MP

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