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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
ABBREVIATION :
BALSAG
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
BASA3
COMMON NAMES :
arrowleaf balsamroot
breadroot
gray dock
TAXONOMY :
The fully documented scientific name of arrowleaf balsamroot is
Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt. Arrowleaf balsamroot hybridizes
with Carey's balsamroot (B. careyana), Hooker balsamroot (B. hookeri),
hoary balsamroot (B. incana), rosy balsamroot (B. rosea), and toothed
balsamroot (B. serrata) [4].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
W. C. Fischer 1986
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
J. L. Holifield, July 1987
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Fischer, William C.; Holifield, J. L. 1987. Balsamorhiza sagittata. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Arrowleaf balsamroot occurs from the Sierra Nevada of California
northward along the east side of the Cascades into British Columbia and
east to Saskatchewan, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and Colorado.
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES17 Elm - ash - cottonwood
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES29 Sagebrush
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES35 Pinyon - juniper
FRES36 Mountain grasslands
FRES38 Plains grasslands
STATES :
CA CO MT NV OR SD UT WA BC SK
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
BIHO BICA BLCA BRCA COLM CODA
CRMO DETO DINO FOBU GLAC GRTE
LAVO LABE MEVE NOCA ROMO SEQU
YELL YOSE ZION
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
2 Cascade Mountains
4 Sierra Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K019 Arizona pine forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K023 Juniper - pinyon woodland
K024 Juniper steppe woodland
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K038 Great Basin sagebrush
K051 Wheatgrass - bluegrass
K055 Sagebrush steppe
K056 Wheatgrass - needlegrass shrubsteppe
K063 Foothills prairie
K064 Grama - needlegrass - wheatgrass
K066 Wheatgrass - needlegrass
K098 Northern floodplain forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
210 Interior Douglas-fir
211 White fir
217 Aspen
219 Limber pine
237 Interior ponderosa pine
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Arrowleaf balsamroot occurs in many dry grassland, shrub, and forest
habitat types within its range, especially in sagebrush-grass,
bitterbrush, mountain-mahogany, open juniper, ponderosa pine, limber
pine, and Douglas-fir habitat types. It also occurs in some subalpine
fir and aspen habitat types. It is typically abundant in mountain big
sagebrush habitats.
Published listing arrowleaf balsamroot as an indicator or dominant in
community types (cts) or habitat types (hts) are presented below.
Area Classification Authority
CO: White River- grassland, shrubland & Hess & Wasser 1982
Arapaho NF forest hts
wc ID grassland & shrubland hts, cts Tisdale 1986
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Arrowleaf balsamroot provides some degree of forage for cattle, sheep,
horses, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and mule deer. On spring ranges it is
an important and palatable forage because it greens up early [28].
Flowering heads are often preferred over the foliage [10]. Arrowleaf
balsamroot is utilized year-round but is more palatable during spring
and early summer when the foliage is succulent [31].
PALATABILITY :
Arrowleaf balsamroot has fair palatability for all classes of livestock
and when green is especially palatable to domestic sheep [10,13,27,33].
Mule deer use arrowleaf balsamroot year-round [16]. It is a valuable
winter and spring forage for Rocky Mountain elk [15]. Deer mice prefer
the seeds [7].
The relish and degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for
arrowleaf balsamroot in several western states is rated as follows
[5,15,16,19]:
CO MT UT WY
Cattle Fair Fair Fair Fair
Sheep Good Good Good Good
Horses Fair Good Poor Good
Pronghorn ---- ---- Fair Poor
Elk ---- Excel. Good Good
Mule deer ---- Excel. Good Good
White-tailed deer ---- ---- ---- Good
Small mammals ---- Fair Good Fair
Small nongame birds ---- Good Good Poor
Upland game birds ---- Good Good Poor
Waterfowl ---- ---- Poor Poor
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Arrowleaf balsamroot has been rated fair in energy value and poor in
protein value [5]. On a summer range in the River of No Return
Wilderness Area of Idaho, arrowleaf balsamroot was found to have
sufficient protein to meet requirements for domestic sheep during June
and July but was declining in August. It exceeded required calcium
levels but did not meet the phosporus levels set by the National
Research Council [6].
COVER VALUE :
The degree to which arrowleaf balsamroot provides environmental
protection during one or more seasons for wildlife species has been
rated as follows [5]:
MT UT WY
Pronghorn ---- Poor Poor
Elk Poor Poor Poor
Mule deer Poor Poor Poor
White-tailed deer ---- ---- Poor
Small mammals Fair Good Poor
Small nongame birds Good Good Poor
Upland game birds Good Fair Poor
Waterfowl ---- Poor Poor
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Arrowleaf balsamroot is rated as having high potential for revegetation
of oil shale or coal mined land, and stabilization of roadsides and
other critical areas [33]. In the Intermountain region it has only low
value for soil stabilization [24].
Arrowleaf balsamroot seed is commonly harvested by hand, but a combine
is often used if the terrain permits [22]. Seeds are usually cleaned
and sold at 95 percent purity with 40 percent germination [28]. Seeds
average 55,000 per pound (121,000/kg) at 100 percent purity [28]. Seeds
may be stored for 4 years with good viability [24].
Seed of arrowleaf balsamroot can be broadcast or drilled [24]. However,
because arrowleaf balsamroot is very slow growing, Wasser [33]
recommended drilling to separate it from more competitive species. The
seedbed should be firm, and the seeds should be covered after planting
[28]. Fall or winter seeding is recommended [24].
Seedlings of arrowleaf balsamroot are persistant on adapted sites [24].
Seeds from a similar source should be used due to regional variation in
cold tolerance [33].
Following seeding, sites should not be grazed for at least two growing
seasons [28]. Establishment may take 5 to 10 years [24]. On the best
sites, plants may require 3 to 4 years to flower, and 7 to 8 years on
more arid sites [28]. When established, arrowleaf balsamroot is
competitive and compatible with other species [33].
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
In the past, young stalks, roots, and seeds were used as food by Native
Americans [20].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Recently established stands of arrowleaf balsamroot or stands used for
seed collection should be protected from grazing [28]. Grazing reduces
the seed production for natural spread and also retards seedling
development [24].
Established balsamroot is strongly tolerant of grazing [33]. Plummer
and others [22] recommended grazing only 50 percent of its foliage.
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Arrowleaf balsamroot is a native, cool-season, long-lived perennial forb
[29]. The coarse, basal leaves are arrow shaped, with entire margins
[24,29]. The flower heads are usually solitary on scapose stems which
reach 9 to 24 inches (20-60 cm) in height [29]. Arrowleaf balsamroot
grows from a large woody root surmounted by a multicipital caudex [12].
The resinous taproot may grow to several inches in diameter and up to 9
feet (270 cm) in length [26,31]. Fruit of arrowleaf balsamroot is a
glabrous achene [29].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Sexual reproduction: Arrowleaf balsamroot spreads entirely by seed
[24]. Seed is mostly animal disseminated [Shaw, pers. comm. 1987].
Seed yield is generally abundant, but crops are often lost to late
frosts, insects, and grazing animals. Viability of seed is often low
due to insect damage [24].
A 3-month stratification of 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 deg C) is required
to break dormancy. On sagebrush rangelands, continuous snow cover for 3
months provides for successful cool-moist stratification of seeds [36].
Vegetative reproduction: Arrowleaf balsamroot regenerates vegetatively
from the very large (several inches in diameter), deep-seated (up to 9
feet deep), woody taproot surmounted by a many-headed caudex bearing
several or many rosettes of leaves and from which new aerial stems arise
each year [12,20,26]. However, Mueggler [pers. comm. 1987] points out
that it is questionable whether new taproots are formed, which would
enable these individual rosettes to become truly individual plants.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Arrowleaf balsamroot is often a dominant forb on many dry foothills and
semiarid mountain rangelands. It prefers well drained, fairly deep
soils and open, fairly dry situations, such as southerly exposures, open
ridges, and parks, throughout the sagebrush, oakbrush, and ponderosa
pine types [22,31]. It also occurs on open sunny slopes in Douglas-fir
and aspen forests [31]. Arrowleaf balsamroot is resistant to drought
and will tolerate semishade [33].
Sites are often rocky [10]. Arrowleaf balsamroot will occur in
moderately alkaline to weakly acidic or saline soils [33]. It is
intolerant of shallow water tables but will briefly survive periods of
soil saturation [28]. Arrowleaf balsamroot naturally grows between
1,000 and 9,000 feet (305-2,744 m) in elevation [33]. Elevational
ranges in several western states are as follows [5]:
from 5,500 to 9,800 feet (1,677-2,988 m) in CO
4,500 to 7,600 feet (1,372-2,317 m) in UT
4,400 to 8,500 feet (1,341-2,591 m) in WY
3,200 to 7,000 feet ( 946-2,134 m) in MT
Arrowleaf balsamroot commonly grows in mixed stands with Idaho fescue
(Festuca idahoensis), bluebunch wheatgrass, big sagebrush (Artemisia
tridentata), western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), Utah juniper (J.
osteosperma), and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) [33].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Arrowleaf balsamroot is a climax indicator in several sagebrush and
grassland habitat types. It commonly grows in mixed stands with
grasses, other forbs, and shrubs [36]. Arrowleaf balsamroot also does
well after disturbances such as fire [36].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Arrowleaf balsamroot begins growth and flowers early, usually in May,
but this may vary as follows [10]:
Earliest Most frequent Latest
State month month month
CO May May June
ID April May June
MT May May June
UT April May June
WY May June August
A representative phenology from the Upper Snake River plains in
southeastern Idaho is as follows [2]:
Phenological Avg. date Range
state
Snow melt Mar 30 --
Growth starts Apr 19 --
Flower stalks appear Apr 26 24
First bloom May 9 35
Full bloom May 25 35
Bloom over Jun 4 --
Seed ripe Jun 14 17
Dissemination begins Jun 18 --
Dissemination over July 9 --
Plant drying Jun 22 32
Plant dried Jul 31 --
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Arrowleaf balsamroot is usually undamaged by fire [34]. Regeneration is
from regrowth of the thick caudex [20].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Caudex, growing points in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Arrowleaf balsamroot is reported to be undamaged [21] or slightly
damaged [25] by fire.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
Arrowleaf balsamroot in Nevada was killed by an August fire, probably as
a result of unusually intense soil heating caused by the burnout of
adjacent woody sagebrush fuels [37].
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Arrowleaf balsamroot increases in frequency and density after fire [18].
Existing plants recover rapidly following fire, but an increase in the
number of plants must await seed prodction [34]. Increase in plant
numbers is especially evident after fire in degraded plant communities
[36]. Arrowleaf balsamroot is reported to reestablish to preburn levels
within 2 to 5 years in northern Idaho [20]. Arrowleaf balsamroot on a
burned area in north-central Idaho averaged 22 percent taller than
unburned plants [18].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
Arrowleaf balsamroot often becomes a visual dominant after a fire and
produces more biomass than unburned plants [3]. Increased densities
have been observed by the second growing season after a fire [35].
Plants reproduce slowly until the community becomes closed.
Productivity and basal cover of arrowleaf balsamroot are then reduced as
perennial grassses and shrubs dominate. Balsamroot may remain in the
community a long time in a suppressed state until another fire occurs
[3].
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Balsamorhiza sagittata | Arrowleaf Balsamroot
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Index
Related categories for Species: Balsamorhiza sagittata
| Arrowleaf Balsamroot
|
 |
