Balsamorhiza sagittata (Pursh) Nutt.
Arrowleaf balsamroot
Arrowleaf balsamroot is named for its wide, sharply pointed leaves and its pine-scented, sticky sap. These plants are members of the sunflower family.
Plants: 8–24″ (20–60 cm) in height, with a hairy, glandular stem. The sticky sap smells strongly of pine.
Leaves: Sharply pointed, roughly triangular, silvery gray, and hairy, sometimes rough, especially underneath. Basal leaves are up to 1½′ (50 cm) long. Further up the stem, they become linear or narrowly oval, and smaller. Leaves have smooth edges.
Flowers: The bright, sunny flowers, like miniature sunflowers, are 1½″ (3.8 cm) to 3″ (7.6 cm) across. Flowers appear from May to July.
Fruits: Hairless achenes about ¼″ (8 mm) long.
Habitats: They appear at altitudes between 4300′ (1.3 km) and 1.6 mi (2.5 km), in mountain forests, grasslands, and desert scrub.
Leaves near the base of the plant
resemble arrowheads with wavy edges, though smaller leaves are more
rounded. 
Edibility: Despite its bitter sap, the entire arrowleaf balsamroot is edible. The large taproots are especially palatable.
Online References:
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Asterales | Flowering plants with a central disk flower and surrounding petals, like daisies |
| Family | Asteraceae | The aster family, which also includes daisies and sunflowers; from the Greek ἀστήρ, “star,” for the star-shaped flowers |
| Genus | Balsamorhiza | From the Greek balsamos, “balsam,” and rhiza, “root,” alluding to the plants having roots with a balsamic or resinous smell or exudation |
| Species | sagittata | From the Latin for “arrow” and hence sagitate |
Balsamorhiza sagittata description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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