Big-Scaled Balsamroot
(Balsamorhiza macrolepis var. macrolepis )
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

Photo by Joe Molter, BLM

Description: Perennial from coarse, woody rootstock with multiple basal leaves, 4 to 18 inches (10 to 45 cm) long and 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) wide, that are once to twice deeply pennately lobed.  Yellow sunflower-like heads, 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) wide, on wand-like stems, 4 to 16 inches (10 to 40 cm) tall.

Distribution: Northern Inner Coast Ranges; Sacramento Valley; Sierra Nevada Foothills.

Habitat: Meadows to rock outcrops and grasslands to confer stands, as well as on serpentine soils from approx. 100 to 3000 feet (30 to 915 m) in elevation.

Flowering Period: March to June

Similar Plants: Balsamorhiza hookeri var. lanata, and Balsamorhiza sericea

Status: BLM Sensitive, California Native Plant Society List 1B