There are several kinds of Grindelia, common in the West, recommended as a remedy for Poison Oak.
Gum Plant
Grindèlia latifòlia
Yellow
Spring
California
Coarse but rather effective flowers, with smooth, stiff, branching stems, about three feet high, and dark dull green leaves. The flower-heads are over an inch and a half across, with bright yellow rays and centers and very resinous, shiny buds.
There are several kinds of Balsamorrhiza. Both the Latin and common names allude to the aromatic roots.
Arrow-leaf Balsam-root, Big Root
Balsamorrhìza sagittàta
Yellow
Spring
Utah, Ida., Cal., Nev., Col.
A very handsome plant, the contrast between the gray-velvet leaves and the great yellow flowers being very striking. It forms large clumps, about a foot and a half high, with slightly downy flower-stalks and heart-shaped or arrow-shaped, toothless leaves, pale gray-green and velvety, covered with silvery down, whiter on the under side. The flowers are over three inches across, with clear bright yellow rays, and a deeper yellow center, fuzzy and greenish-yellow in the middle. The involucre is almost white, thickly covered with silvery, silky wool, and the flowers are pleasantly sweet-smelling. This grows on dry hillsides.
Cut-leaved Balsam-root
Balsamorrhìza macrophýlla
Yellow
Spring, summer
Utah, Wyo.
A strikingly handsome plant, forming clumps even larger than the last, with similar flowers, but with quite different foliage. The leaves are rich-green, and decorative in form, more or less slashed into lobes and very sticky, with hairy margins and leaf-stalks, and are nearly as tall as the hairy, sticky flower-stems, from one to two feet high. This grows in rich soil in mountain valleys.
Cut-leaved Balsam Root—Balsamorrhiza macrophylla.