Plants (15-)20-40(-65) cm. Basal leaves: blades ± silvery to white or gray-green, rounded-deltate or deltate to triangular-deltate, 5-25 × 3-15 cm, bases ± cordate, margins entire, apices acute to attenuate, faces sericeous, tomentose, tomentulose, or velutinous (at least abaxially, usually gland-dotted as well), sometimes glabrescent. Heads usually borne singly, sometimes 2-3+. Involucres hemispheric to turbinate, 12-25 mm diam. Outer phyllaries lanceolate to oblance-olate or linear, (15-)20-25(-30+) mm, equaling or surpassing inner, apices acute to acuminate. Ray laminae 20-40 mm. 2n = 38. Flowering (Apr-)May-Jun(-Jul). Openings, banks, flats, meadows, ridges, sagebrush scrub, conifer forests; (100-)900-2500(-3000) m; Alta., B.C.; Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., Oreg., S.Dak. , Utah, Wash., Wyo. Balsamorhiza sagittata grows east of the Cascade-Sierra axis to the Rocky Mountains and Black Hills. It is one of the more spectacular of all spring-flowering plants in the northwestern United States. Hybrids occur along lines of contact between B. sagittata and almost all species of sect. Balsamorhiza except B. macrophylla (a high polyploid).

Plant: Perennial from fleshy taproot; stems 2-6 dm, ± short-tomentose, minutely glandular Leaves: basal 20-50 cm, long-petioled; blade widely triangular, entire, acute or obtuse, base cordate and ± hastate, upper surface soft-hairy, lower surface short-tomentose to finely strigose, ± canescent; cauline generally several, linear to oblanceolate INFLORESCENCE: primary inflorescence a head, each resembling a flower; heads 1-few, radiate; outer phyllaries 10-25 mm, 4-9 mm wide, oblong-lanceolate to ovate, obtuse to acute, ± tomentose; peduncles long, bracts 0-few; involucre hemispheric to bell-shaped Flowers: Ray flowers: showy, ligules 2.5-4 cm, yellow; Disk flowers: many; corollas 6-8 mm, yellow, tube short, throat cylindric to narrowly bell-shaped; style branches tapered Fruit: achenes, 7-9 mm, oblong, 3-4-angled; pappus 0 Misc: Open forest, scrub; 1400-2600 m.; May-Jul