Arrowleaf balsamroot is one of the flowers I love to see in the springtime.  Here  are 7 facts about this spring bloomer in the Rocky Mountains that you may not know.

When we have lived in an area for many years we develop a sense of place, including knowledge of the local flora and fauna.  For me, one of the best signs that spring has arrived to the Rockies is when I see splashes of yellow on the mountainsides.  Those yellow splashes, upon closer inspection, turn out to be little clumps of a beautiful flower, Arrowleaf Balsamroot.

7 Fun Facts About Arrowleaf Balsamroot

The flowers look like bright, yellow sunflowers.  The reason the flowers look like sunflowers is because this flower is related to sunflowers.  It is in the sunflower family.

During spring you can easily spot this plant due to the flowers.  But, during the rest of the year you can identify it by the shape of the leaves.  The leaves are a gray color and shaped like an arrow.  The leaves are quite long, between 8 and 18 inches long on average.

This plant grows in clumps.

This is one of many plants that have medicinal uses.  Native Americans used the roots to cure diseases, swelling, and insect bites.  It still has many uses today.  A quick google search will show you tons of potential uses of this plant.

Arrowleaf Balsamroot grows best in full sun.  The main habitats you can find it growing are grasslands, sage brush, and pine forest.  I usually find this growing in the lower elevation foothills on open, sunny slopes.  It grows throughout the Western US as the map shows.

If you get close and smell this flower you will discover that it actually smells like chocolate!

Many parts of Arrowleaf balsamroot were used for food.  The young leaves and stems were eaten like a salad.  The roots were cooked and eaten, and the seed like fruit was turned into a flour type mixture.