arrowhead balsamroot, Balsamorhiza sagittata

Balsamroot flower heads approach four inches across. They are one of the largest in their region. They give us a real good chance to see the curly pistils, reaching back for some of their own pollen should they need it. Balsamroot was an important plant in Indian culture, used for medicine, food , and in ceremonies. There are 109 citations for it in the Native American Ethnobotany Data Base. One item mentions that Blackfoot runners for the piskun bathed themselves in the smoke of dried balsamroot root. Those piskin runners job was to stampede buffalo of a cliff. Really!? Balsamroot tincture is now available on line, should you want to run some buffalo, or whatever. Arrowhead balsamroot grows east of the Sierra divide in AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, WY, AB, and BC. Summit Co CO, 6/17/13.