E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Arnica angustifolia subsp. tomentosa Vahl (Macoun) G.W. Douglas & G. Ruyle-Douglas
alpine arnica (narrowleaf arnica)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Virginia Skilton  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #65548)

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Distribution of Arnica angustifolia subsp. tomentosa
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb, from an ascending, fibrous-rooted rhizome or stem-base; stems leafy, erect or sometimes ascending, simple or branched only in the inflorescence, sparsely to densely hairy or sometimes glandular at least in the upper portion, 10-50 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lance-shaped to narrowly elliptic, hairy and often glandular, stalked, entire to toothed; stem leaves opposite, 2-4 pairs (rarely 1 or 5), reduced and becoming unstalked and entire upwards.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, solitary to 5 (rarely 7), the bases densely white-hairy; involucres 10-18 mm tall; involucral bracts lance-shaped, hairy, and usually glandular; ray flowers yellow, 10-16, toothed at the apex; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes 4-8 mm long, uniformly densely hairy and often glandular; pappus white, finely-barbed.
Notes:
Two subspecies occur in BC.

1. Plants and involucres conspicuously white, woolly long-hairy; stems 5-20 cm tall, common in the alpine zone throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains......................... ssp. tomentosa (Macoun) G. W. Dougl. & G. Ruyle-Dougl.

1. Plants and involucres never conspicuously white, woolly long-hairy; stems 10-25 (rarely 30) cm tall frequent in N and E BC...................... ssp. angustifolia

(Note modified from the original)

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry sites from the montane to alpine zones; common in BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains (see key below); circumboreal, N to AK and YT, E to NF and S to MN, SD and WA; Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Arnica angustifolia ssp. tomentosa

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 1930 1997 2065
Slope Gradient (%) 15 19 23
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
151 173 195
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 3 4
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
2
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: ESSF(2)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Arnica alpina subsp. tomentosa (Macoun) Maguire
Arnica alpina var. tomentosa (Macoun) Cronq.
Arnica angustifolia var. tomentosa (Macoun) Dorn
Arnica tomentosa Macoun

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References