May 22, 2014

Flora Focus || Balsamroot

I really wish I could have made a little bouquet with all of the wildflowers blooming in Okanogan while I was there. These yellow ones were popping up everywhere. They are called Balsamroots and are like wild sunflowers that grow in clumps. If I would have should up just a week earlier, whole hillsides would have been covered in these blooms, but the majority of them had lived their lives and there were a couple left for me to enjoy.

Balsamroot
Botanical Name: Balsamorhiza
Flower: Spring blooming with yellow petals and a yellow center. Sunflower like in appearance.
Leaf: Large, arrowhead shaped leave with a long petiole. The top of the leaf is fuzzy.

This flower is native to western North America and was used a lot by Native Americans. Almost all of the plant can be eaten. The roots and young shoots can be baked or steamed, the seeds are rich in oil and are nutritious, and wildlife can eat the blooms. The root can also be used a coffee substitute. Plants are amazing.

5 comments:

  1. Pretty flower! I am so clueless about plants and trees but find it all so interesting! More of these posts please!

    Haaappy Spring!
    Hailes<3
    Hailes Hearts Fashion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yay! Im so glad you like these posts! They aren't stopping anytime soon :)

      Delete
  2. I love these! They grow all over our hillside, but I never bothered to research them. Didn't know they were edible. :)

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