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Balsamorhiza incana

Common name:	Hoary Balsamroot	Family:	Compositae
Author:	Nutt.	Botanical references:	60, 200
Synonyms:	Balsamorhiza hookeri incana, Balsamorhiza floccosa
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	North-western N. America
Habitat:	Meadows and other moderately moist to moderately dry open places[60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Balsamorrhiza incana[HORTIPLEX]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Hoary Balsamroot [P,B],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	cana = grayed due to hairs incana = gray
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Asterales. Renamed to Asteraceae -- Aster family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.9m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower in July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Root.

Root - raw or cooked[105, 161, 177]. The thick root can be eaten raw[257].
Seed - raw or cooked. It can be ground into a powder and made into a bread.

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Analgesic Stomachic.

A decoction of the leaves, roots and stems has been used in the treatment of stomach pains and colds and as a steam bath for treating headaches[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a deep fertile well-drained loam in full sun[134, 200]. Plants strongly resent winter wet[134, 200].
Hardy to at least -25° c[200].
Plants are intolerant of root disturbance and should be planted into their permanent positions whilst still small[134].

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[134].
Division in spring. Very difficult since the plant strongly resents root disturbance[134]. 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.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Balsamorrhiza incana (a possible synonym).

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[161] Yanovsky. E. Food Plants of the N. American Indians. Publication no. 237. U.S. Depf of Agriculture.
A comprehensive but very terse guide. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. 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.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. 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.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany 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.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Balsamorhiza+incana
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