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Asteraceae FAMILY

Balsamorhiza sagittata

Balsamorhiza sagittata

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Balsamorhiza sagittata is a very cold-tolerant plant that is hardy to at least -25°c[1]. It is found in areas where the mean annual rainfall is at least 225 - 330mm[2]. Requires a deep fertile well-drained loam in full sun[3, 1]. It can grow in soils from weakly acid to moderately alkaline and also in weakly saline soils[2]. Established plants are very drought tolerant[2]. Plants strongly resent winter wet, but can withstand short periods when the soil is saturated[3, 1, 2]. Plants develop a large taproot that can be 10cm or more in diameter, the roots penetrating 2.7 metres or more into the soil[2]. The plant is very intolerant of root disturbance and should be planted into its permanent positions whilst still small[3]. The plant comes into growth very early in the year[2]. It is said to be one of the more spectacular of all spring-flowering plants in the northwestern United States[4]. A long-lived plant, but slow to develop. Seedlings take 3 - 4 years to flower on the best sites in the wild, and 7 - 8 years on lower precipitation sites[2]. Plants withstand heavy grazing in the wild[5]. Plants are very resistant to fire - although top growth is killed, the rootstock is usually unharmed by even the fiercest of fires, resprouting with increased vigour after the fire[2]. The seed crop is usually good, and large quantities of seed can be produced if developing seedheads are not attacked by insects and are protected from grazing[2]. Hybridizes with several other members of the genus in the subgenus Balsamorhiza, with the exception of Balsamorhiza macrophylla (a high polyploid)[4].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse and only just cover the seed. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 6 days at 18°c. Either sow the seed in individual pots or pot up the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer[3]. Germination without stratification can be very low and erratic. A 12-week period of stratification was required for maximum germination, though an 8 week regime at 5°c (even though it only achieved 50% of the germination from a 12 week regime) could be a sensible option since some seeds begin germinating before the 12 weeks are up. Optimum temperatures for germination is essentially the same as optimum temperatures for stratification[2]. Seed can be stored for up to 10 years[2]. Division in spring. Very difficult since the plant strongly resents root disturbance[3]. It is probably best to take quite small divisions, or basal cuttings, without disturbing the main clump. Pot these up into individual pots and keep them in light shade in the greenhouse until they are growing away well. Plant them out in the summer if they have grown sufficiently, otherwise over-winter them in the greenhouse and plant out in late spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Balsamorhiza+sagittata>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]Fire Effects Information System — http://www.feis-crs.org/feis/ ↩︎An on-line information site with comprehensive information on over 1,100 species of plant. Mainly developed to supply information on the effects of fire on plants and animals, it also contains a wealth of other information on the plants
  3. [3]Growing from Seed. Volume 2. — Rice. G. (Editor) · Thompson and Morgan. · 1988 · ISBN - ↩︎Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.
  4. [4]Flora of N. America — http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ ↩︎An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses.
  5. [5]A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers — Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. · The Riverside Press · 1963 · ISBN 63-7093 ↩︎Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.
  6. [6]Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. — Hitchcock. C. L. · University of Washington Press · 1955 · ISBN - ↩︎A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  8. [8]A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. — Usher. G. · Constable · 1974 · ISBN 0094579202 ↩︎Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.
  9. [9]The Dictionary of Useful Plants. — Coon. N. · Rodale Press · 1975 · ISBN 0-87857-090-x ↩︎Interesting reading but short on detail.
  10. [10]Food Plants of the N. American Indians. — Yanovsky. E. · U.S. Depf of Agriculture. · ISBN - ↩︎A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.
  11. [11]Native American Ethnobotany — Moerman. D. · Timber Press. Oregon. · 1998 · ISBN 0-88192-453-9 ↩︎Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.
  12. [12]Earth Medicine, Earth Food. — Weiner. M. A. · Ballantine Books · 1980 · ISBN 0-449-90589-6 ↩︎A nice book to read though it is difficult to look up individual plants since the book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different medicinal uses plus a section on edible plants. Common names are used instead of botanical.
  13. [13]Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. — Hedrick. U. P. · Dover Publications · 1972 · ISBN 0-486-20459-6 ↩︎Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.
  14. [14]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  15. [15]Plants for Human Consumption. — Kunkel. G. · Koeltz Scientific Books · 1984 · ISBN 3874292169 ↩︎An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of Latin names with a brief list of edible parts.
  16. [16]The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. — Coffey. T. · Facts on File. · 1993 · ISBN 0-8160-2624-6 ↩︎A nice read, lots of information on plant uses.
  17. [17]Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. — Sweet. M. · Naturegraph Co. · 1962 · ISBN 0-911010-54-8 ↩︎Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.
  18. [18]Edible Wild Fruits and Nuts of Canada. — Turner. N. J. and Szczawinski. A. · National Museum of Natural Sciences · 1978 · ISBN - ↩︎A very readable guide to some wild foods of Canada.
  19. [19]Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. — Turner. N. J. · British Columbia Provincial Museum · 1979 · ISBN 0-7718-8117-7 ↩︎Excellent and readable guide.