Arnica ovata Greene
leaf arnica (diverse arnica)
Asteraceae (Aster family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Bryan Kelly-McArthur     (Photo ID #79287)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Arnica ovata
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Perennial herb, from a freely rooted rhizome; stems erect, solitary or occasionally a few clustered together, sparsely long-hairy and often glandular, 15-45 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves smaller than stem leaves and often deciduous by flowering time; stem leaves opposite, 2-4 (rarely 5) pairs, egg-shaped to elliptic or lance-elliptic, short-stalked below and unstalked above, uppermost ones reduced.
Flowers:
Heads with ray and disk flowers, usually 1-4, rarely as many as 7, the bases hairy and often glandular; involucres 9-15 mm tall; involucral bracts lanceolate, sparsely (usually) to densely long-hairy and often glandular-fringed with small hairs; ray flowers yellow, 12-15, inconspicuously toothed; disk flowers yellow.
Fruits:
Achenes 5-7 mm long, glabrous or sparsely hairy; pappus tawny to brownish, more or less feathery.
Notes:
This "species" is merely a convenient name for a complex series of apparent hybrids involving either A. mollis or A. amplexicaulis and A. cordifolia or A. latifolia (Cronquist 1955). Most of the BC material examined which had been placed under this name is better placed in A. mollis.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

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.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Arnica ovata

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)
1928 1177 2380
Slope Gradient (%)
26 0 74

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

85 10 352
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
4 0 7
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
D
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
33
Modal BEC Zone Class
ESSF

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

AT(4), BAFA(2), ESSF(19), ICH(2), IMA(1), MS(1), SBS(1)

Habitat and Range

Mesic forests in the montane zone; infrequent in S BC; N to AK and YT, S to N MT and CA.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Arnica diversifolia