Arnica cordifolia

Arnica cordifolia
Arnica cordifolia near Chumstick Mountain, Chelan County Washington
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Tribe: Heliantheae
Genus: Arnica
Species: A. cordifolia
Binomial name
Arnica cordifolia
Synonyms

Arnica cordifolia is a species of arnica in the sunflower family, known by the common name heartleaf arnica.[2] It is native to western North America from Alaska to California to New Mexico, as far east as Ontario and Michigan.[3] It is a plant of many habitat types, including coniferous forests and mountain meadows.[4]

This is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing one or more erect stems reaching a maximum height near half a meter. It has two to four pairs of leaves on the stem, each on a long petiole. The leaves are heart-shaped to arrowhead-shaped and finely toothed along the edges. The inflorescence bears one or more daisylike flower heads lined with white-haired phyllaries and sometimes studded with resin glands. The center of each head contains golden yellow disc florets and a fringe of bright golden ray florets approaching 3 centimeters in maximum length.[4]

The fruit is a hairy achene up to a centimeter long, not counting its off-white pappus. Seeds are dispersed on the wind. An individual plant can live twelve years, surviving periodic wildfire by resprouting from its long, slender rhizome afterward.[4][5]

References

  1. ↑ The International Plant Names Index
  2. ↑ Calflora taxon report, University of California, Arnica cordifolia Hook. heart leaved arnica, heartleaf arnica
  3. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 state-level distribution map
  4. 1 2 3 Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 374 Heartleaf arnica, Arnica cordifolia Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 331. 1834.
  5. ↑ Ecology Fire Ecology


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