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

Prenanthes sagittata (A. Gray) A. Nelson
arrow-leaved rattlesnake-root (arrowleaf rattlesnakeroot)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Ryan Batten  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #66715)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Prenanthes sagittata
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Species Information

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General:
Perennial herb from a slightly thickened taproot; stems erect, solitary, branched above, long-hairy, exuding milky juice when broken, 30-70 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves arrowhead-shaped, long-stalked, blades irregularly toothed, glabrous, 3.5-12 cm long, 0.5-11 cm wide; stem leaves similar below, middle and lower ones with winged stalks, becoming short-stalked or unstalked, reduced upwards.
Flowers:
Heads with strap-shaped flowers, numerous in a spikelike inflorescence; involucres 7-13 mm tall; involucral bracts lance-oblong, the principal ones linear, about 8, sparsely long-hairy; ray flowers white.
Fruits:
Achenes finely lined between the nerves, cylindric or tapering to the summit, glabrous, 4-6 mm long; pappus of brownish hairlike bristles.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic roadsides, forests and streambanks in the montane zone; rare in SE BC, known only from Kishinena Valley and Akamina Creek; E to AB and S to N ID and MT.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Prenanthes sagittata

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) 420 646 850
Slope Gradient (%) 0 7 15
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
242 241 242
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
5 5 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
3
Modal BEC Zone Class
SBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: CWH(1), SBS(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

Prenanthes alata var. sagittata Gray

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References