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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
ABBREVIATION :
BALHOO
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
BAHO
COMMON NAMES :
Hooker balsamroot
TAXONOMY :
The fully documented scientific name for Hooker balsamroot is
Balsamorhiza hookeri Nutt.
Recognized varieties are as follows:
Balsamorhiza hookeri var. hookeri
Balsamorhiza hookeri var. hispidula (W. Sharp) Cronq.
Balsamorhiza hookeri var. idahoensis (W. Sharp) Cronq.
Balsamorhiza hookeri var. lagocephala (W. Sharp) Cronq.
Balsamorhiza hookeri var. neglecta (W. Sharp) Cronq.
Hooker balsamroot is known to hybridize with deltoid balsamroot (B.
deltoidea) and arrowleaf balsamroot (B. sagittata) [4] and is presumed
to hybridize with cutleaf balsamroot (B. macrophylla) [29].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
J. L. Holifield, July 1987
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Holifield, J. L. 1987. Balsamorhiza hookeri. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Hooker balsamroot is irregularly distributed from the east side of the
Cascades southward to California, Nevada, southern Utah, and extends
east to northwest Colorado and southwest Wyoming [4,12]. The species
does not occur in Oregon [12]. Distribution of Balsamorhiza hookeri by
variety in the Intermountain region is as follows [4,29]:
B. h. var. hookeri -- Klickitat County, eastern Washington; similar
plants in northeastern California and as far
east as northeastern Nevada
B. h. var. hispidula -- Yakima County, Washington; Snake River plains
of Idaho; and southward into northeastern
Nevada, Utah, northwestern Colorado, and
possibly Wyoming
B. h. var. idahoensis -- west-central Idaho
B. h. var. lagocephala -- eastern Washington, but not Klickitat County
B. h. var. neglecta -- south-central Idaho, southward into Nevada,
Utah, and possibly Wyoming
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES30 Desert shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
STATES :
CA CO ID NV UT WA WY
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
GRBA YOSE
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
2 Cascade Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
7 Lower Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
12 Colorado Plateau
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K050 Fescue - wheatgrass
K055 Sagebrush steppe
SAF COVER TYPES :
210 Interior Douglas-fir
237 Interior ponderosa pine
239 Pinyon - juniper
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Hooker balsamroot occurs in bunchgrass, sagebrush, mountain brush, salt
desert shrub, pinyon-juniper, and ponderosa pine habitat types and plant
communities [26,29]. Stands of Hooker balsamroot are often sparse [27].
It is not listed as a climax indicator.
Common associates of Hooker balsamroot include big sagebrush (Artemisia
tridentata), low sagebrush (A. arbuscula), Utah juniper (Juniperus
osteosperma), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), bluebunch wheatgrass
(Pseudoroegneria spicata), Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda), bottlebrush
squirreltail (Elymus elymoides), longleaf phlox (Phlox longifolia), and
pussytoes (Antennaria spp.) [2,11,16,19].
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Hooker balsamroot greens up early in the spring and is probably of some
value as forage. It provides forage for cattle, horses, and sheep. It
is likely that utilization of Hooker balsamroot by wildlife and
livestock is similar to use of arrowleaf balsamroot. Arrowleaf
balsamroot is grazed year-round but is more palatable during spring and
early summer when the foliage is green [27].
PALATABILITY :
Palatability of Hooker balsamroot ranges from poor to good for all
classes of livestock [27].
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
The food value of Hooker balsamroot is poorly documented. Some other
species of balsamroot (Balsamorhiza incana, B. macrophylla, B.
sagittata) are rated poor to fair in energy value and poor in protein
value when compared to other forbs [5].
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
The value of Hooker balsamroot for rehabilitation of disturbed sites has
not been documented.
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Native Americans used the roots of Hooker balsamroot for food [27].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Hooker balsamroot increases in response to livestock grazing in Colorado
[1].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Hooker balsamroot is a native, cool-season, perennial forb [25]. The
solitary flower heads are on stalks which generally reach 4 to 16 inches
(10-40 cm) in height [29]. The coarse, basal leaves reach 2 to 12
inches (5-30 cm) in length and 0.6 to 4 inches (1.5-10 cm) in width
[29]. Hooker balsamroot grows from a thick, carrotlike, resinous
taproot surmounted by a simple or occasionally few-branched crown
[12,27]. Fruit of Hooker balsamroot is a glabrous achene [29].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Published information on the regeneration of Hooker balsamroot is scant.
Regeneration characteristics may be similar to those of arrowleaf
balsamroot, which spreads almost entirely by animal-disseminated seed
[Shaw, pers. comm. 1987,21]. Hooker balsamroot may also regenerate
vegetatively from its taproot which is surmounted by a simple to
few-branched crown and from which new aerial stems arise each year [12].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Hooker balsamroot grows on dry plains and hillsides, gravelly banks, and
rocky outcrops in the foothills and lowlands within its range [4,27].
It occurs at elevations up to 5,500 feet (1,676 m) [27]. Elevational
distribution in two western states is as follows [5,9]:
from 4,300 to 9,000 feet (1,311-2,743 m) in UT
6,500 to 8,000 feet (1,981-2,438 m) in CO
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Hooker balsamroot is present in numerous sagebrush, pinyon-juniper,
ponderosa pine, and salt desert shrub climax communities.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Hooker balsamroot begins growth and flowers early in the spring [27].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Hooker balsamroot resrpouts from its root crown following fire.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Caudex, growing points in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Information regarding the effects of fire on Hooker balsamroot is
lacking. Arrowleaf balsamroot undamaged or only slightly damaged by
fire [18,23]. In pinyon-juniper woodlands, perennial forbs such as
balsamroot (Balsamorhiza spp.) which die back to the soil surface are
less impacted by fire than bunchgrasses are [6].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
The response of Hooker balsamroot to fire is not documented. The
response of other species of balsamroot have, however, been studied.
Arrowleaf balsamroot, for example, increases in frequency and density
after fire [15,31]. Individual plants recover rapidly, but an increase
in the number of plants must await seed production [30]. Arrowleaf
balsamroot is reported to reestablish to preburn levels within 2 to 5
years in northern Idaho [17].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza hookeri | Hooker Balsamroot
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Index
Related categories for Species: Balsamorhiza hookeri
| Hooker Balsamroot
|
 |
