Arnica cordifolia Hook.
heart-leaved arnica (heartleaf arnica)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
heart-leaved arnica (heartleaf arnica)
Asteraceae (Aster family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a long, branching rhizome; stems solitary or occasionally a few clustered together, sparsely hairy with multicellular hairs and often glandular, 10-60 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves heart-shaped, often produced on separate short shoots; stem leaves opposite, 2-3 (sometimes 1 or 4) pairs, larger than the basal ones, heart-shaped, becoming lance-shaped above, glandular to hairy, stalked below, unstalked above, coarsely toothed to entire.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, 1-3, rarely as many as 7, erect, the bases sparsely to densely hairy with long white hairs, often glandular; ray flowers yellow, usually 9-16, with conspicuous teeth; disk flowers yellow, sparsely hairy; involucres 13-22 mm tall, the bracts lanceolate to oblanceolate, gradually to abruptly pointed, sparsely to densely hairy, often glandular, the tips often fringed.
Fruits:
Achenes 4-8 mm long, moderately to densely stiff-hairy, often with stalked glands; pappus white, finely-barbed.
Notes:
Arnica cordifolia appears to hybridize with A. latifolia throughout most of its range. These plants are intermediate, especially in leaf characters. In the alpine zone of S BC a smaller phase with narrow, more or less heart-shaped leaves and more glandular achenes has been recognized by some taxonomists as var. pumila (Rydb) Maguire.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Yellow
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: White
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Arnica cordifolia
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)
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1271 | 6 | 2854 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
22 | 0 | 420 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
263 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
C | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
8118 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(27), BAFA(4), BG(3), BWBS(567), CWH(12), ESSF(2270), ICH(484), IDF(966), IMA(3), MH(13), MS(1336), PP(43), SBPS(263), SBS(1349), SWB(113) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry meadows and forests in the montane to alpine zones; common throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascades Mountains, rare on the coast and on SE Vancouver Island; N to AK, YT and NT, E to SK and S to SD, NM, AZ and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Arnica cordifolia subsp. genuina Maguire
Arnica cordifolia var. humilis (Rydb.) Maguire
Arnica cordifolia var. pumila (Rydb.) Maguire
Arnica cordifolia var. whitneyi (Fernald) Maguire
Arnica hardinae H. St. John
Arnica humilis Rydb.
Arnica paniculata A. Nelson
Arnica whitneyi Fernald