Major Rangeland Plants of Idaho: Forbs

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Major Rangeland Plants of Idaho Forbs
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Arrowleaf Balsamroot
flowers are sunflower-like, large, showy, and
yellow
Ray flowers

• Perennial
• Native
• Fair for Grazers
• Fair for Browsers

Disk flowers
Leaves are large, shaped like arrowheads
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Curlycup Gumweed

• Perennial
• Native
• Poor for Grazers
• Poor for Browsers

flower heads grow at the top of branching stems
Serrated leaf margins
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A.
Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the
northern United States, Canada and the British
Possessions. Vol. 3 371.
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Indian Paintbrush

• Perennial
• Native
• Fair for Grazers
• Fair for Browsers

Asymmetrical (irregular) flowers
Highly lobed leaf margins
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Low Larkspur

• Perennial
• Native
• Poor for Grazers
• Poor for Browsers

Raceme seed head
has a long spur extending from the backside of
the flower
Highly palmately divided leaf margins
Poisonous This plant contains an alkaloid
that is very toxic.
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Mules Ear

• Perennial
• Native
• Poor for Grazers
• Poor for Browsers

Mostly basal leaves some grow on flower stalks
Simple leaf shape
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Penstemon or Beardtongue

• Perennial
• Native
• Fair for Grazers
• Fair for Browsers

leaves are opposite
Asymmetrical flowers
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Russian Thistle/Tumbleweed

• Annual
• Introduced
• Fair for Grazers
• Poor for Browsers

White or green flowers
Linear leaves
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Tailcup Lupine

• Perennial
• Native
• Poor for Grazers
• Poor for Browsers

Raceme seed heads
Poisonous This plant contains an alkaloid
that quite toxic.
Compound leaves
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Tall Larkspur

• Perennial
• Native
• Poor for Grazers
• Poor for Browsers

White or purple flowers
Highly palmately divided leaves
Poisonous This plant contains a potent
alkaloid. More animals die from this plant than
from any other in North America
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Taper-tip Hawksbeard

• Perennial
• Native
• Fair for Grazers
• Good for Browsers

Distinct ray flowers
One distinct taproot
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Western Yarrow

• Perennial
• Native
• Poor for Grazers
• Fair for Browsers

Flowers in umbel (umbrella-like) shaped
inflorescence
deeply divided fern-like leaves
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Wild Geranium

• Perennial
• Native
• Fair for Grazers
• Fair for Browsers

Symmetrical flowers and seedhead
Palmate leaf venation