In early spring and up until early summer, both hillsides and open fields, meadows and prairies bask in the warm glow of a beautiful spring wildflower Arrowleaf Balsamroot.
According to the USDA website “The balsam root has a large, deep, thick taproot having a diameter the width of a hand and a branching root going several feet deep. The thicker portions are covered with bark. Above is a plant we noticed that obviously has seen many years and still is going strong.
The Balsamroot first appeared in early May when the snow melted and started blooming about a month ago and are still going strong with new growth appearing especially in areas that were the last to thaw this year and in higher elevations.
The flowers provide ample pollen and provide for pollinators early in the season.
Beautiful in both morning and evening light every part of the plant provided Native Americans with food. The roots were baked or roasted, the flowers and seeds eaten and the root has been used as a coffee substitute.
A beautiful spring wildflower indeed giving a nice golden glow to the fields as spring marches on.
nature has no boss 
Lovely post, Mike. Beautiful in all its stages, and multi-functional too.
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Hi Jet and thanks we do enjoy having this plant around and it was fun to learn the many uses. The next step might be to give a few a try but they do seem to enjoy where they are at right now and the grocery store does have plenty other choices.
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That was a very well-documented plant. It is also firmly rooted.
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Hi Jim, yes very firmly rooted we once tried to transplant a very small on and were flabbergasted that the tap root on a little one was more than a foot deep. We have seen it for sale in that native plant section of our local nursery in a container looking like a large foot long plastic test tube with a single leaf stickup out the top.
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That sounds amazing. Small ones would be easiest I assume.
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Yes small is probably the o only way.
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A lovely flower, and I did not know it has so many uses.
Have a great weekend!
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Hi adam it is a wonderful flower to have around. I have not attempted to try any of the traditional food uses but might be fun if I did not feel guilty for digging up such a fine plant to look at. Probably would give me more pleasure to see than to eat it but in a pinch…it is there.
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Good-looking plant, I do not know it, looks a bit like a kind of sunflower. Presume if is a native USA plant only?
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HI Paula, yes it is a type of sunflower and it is indeed native to the western US.
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When I lived in Summit County, these lovely flowers always seemed to be among the first to cover meadows only recently released from their white burden. Lovely shots, Mike.
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Hi tanja, the Balsamroot is indeed a nice flower to start off the summer with. Hope you have had a nice spring and wishing you an even better summer.
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Thank you, Mike. I wish you the same. Summer solstice is approaching (too) rapidly!
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