Index / Search / Balsamorhiza macrophylla

§1 Plant — species · Asteraceae

Balsamorhiza macrophylla Nutt.

vernacular cutleaf balsamroot


USDA
BAMA4
GBIF
3137236
Rank
species
cutleaf balsamroot (Balsamorhiza macrophylla)
Platephotograph · Rosemary J. SmithCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Forb/herb
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Asteraceae Bercht. & J. Presl
Genus
Balsamorhiza
§2a

Native status, by region

  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
High
Fire
Medium
Salinity
Low
Anaerobic
Low
CaCO₃
Medium
Hedging
None
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-23 °F minimum
Frost-free days
100 min.
Precipitation
14–40 in/yr
pH range
6.3–8.6
Root depth
18 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium, fine
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Crown
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Moderate
Mature height
2 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Porous
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Mid Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Summer
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
55,000
Propagation
seed
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Contracting Only
Nursery stock
No
Graze palatability
Medium
Palatable, human
Yes
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
No
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 1 of 56 Montana counties.

Native · 1 counties

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/BAMA4 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/3137236 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z