Burke: Arnica lanceolata vs. Arnica discoidea

	Arnica lanceolata	Arnica discoidea
	clasping arnica, stream bank arnica	rayless arnica, rayless leopardbane
Habit	Perennial from a freely-rooting rhizome, 3-8 dm. tall, more or less glandular and hairy.	Perennial from long rhizomes, the stems mostly solitary, 2-5 dm. tall, glandular-puberulent and more or less long-hairy.
Leaves	Cauline leaves 5-12 pairs, not much reduced upward, narrowly lance-elliptic or lance-ovate, sessile, more or less toothed, 5-12 cm. long and 1.2-6 cm. wide.	Long-petiolate, deltoid or sub-cordate basal leaves commonly on separate short shoots; cauline leaves 2-4 pairs, reduced upward, petiolate, ovate, 4-8 cm. long and 1.5-5 cm. wide, irregularly toothed, with long, soft hairs on both sides, pale beneath.
Flowers	Heads several; involucre 9-15 mm. high, its bracts sharply pointed; rays 8-14, pale yellow, 1-2 cm. long; pappus tawny, sub-plumose.	Heads usually several, rayless; involucre 11-13 mm. high, with hairs and stalked glands throughout.
Fruits	Achenes sparsely hirsute and sometimes glandular.

	Arnica lanceolata	Arnica discoidea
Identification notes		The similar rayless Arnica parryi has narrower leaves and the heads are nodding in bud.
Flowering time	June-August	June-August
Habitat	Streambanks, moist woods and meadows from middle elevations to the subalpine.	Forest openings from middle elevations to the subalpine.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington, including the Olympic Mountains and the northeastern region; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, also in northeastern North America. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring in the Cascades Mountains of Klickitat and Skamania counties in Washington; Washington to California, east to Nevada. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. chamissonis, A. cordifolia, A. discoidea, A. fulgens, A. gracilis, A. latifolia, A. longifolia, A. mollis, A. nevadensis, A. ovata, A. parryi, A. rydbergii, A. sororia	A. chamissonis, A. cordifolia, A. fulgens, A. gracilis, A. lanceolata, A. latifolia, A. longifolia, A. mollis, A. nevadensis, A. ovata, A. parryi, A. rydbergii, A. sororia
Subordinate taxa	A. lanceolata ssp. prima
Web links	Local floras: BC, OR, WA Local Web sites: Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Arnica discoidea

clasping arnica, stream bank arnica

rayless arnica, rayless leopardbane

Habit

Perennial from a freely-rooting rhizome, 3-8 dm. tall, more or less glandular and hairy.

Perennial from long rhizomes, the stems mostly solitary, 2-5 dm. tall, glandular-puberulent and more or less long-hairy.

Leaves

Cauline leaves 5-12 pairs, not much reduced upward, narrowly lance-elliptic or lance-ovate, sessile, more or less toothed, 5-12 cm. long and 1.2-6 cm. wide.

Long-petiolate, deltoid or sub-cordate basal leaves commonly on separate short shoots;

cauline leaves 2-4 pairs, reduced upward, petiolate, ovate, 4-8 cm. long and 1.5-5 cm. wide, irregularly toothed, with long, soft hairs on both sides, pale beneath.

Flowers

Heads several;

involucre 9-15 mm. high, its bracts sharply pointed;

rays 8-14, pale yellow, 1-2 cm. long;

pappus tawny, sub-plumose.

Heads usually several, rayless;

involucre 11-13 mm. high, with hairs and stalked glands throughout.

Fruits

Achenes sparsely hirsute and sometimes glandular.

Arnica discoidea

Identification notes

The similar rayless Arnica parryi has narrower leaves and the heads are nodding in bud.

Flowering time

June-August

Habitat

Streambanks, moist woods and meadows from middle elevations to the subalpine.

Forest openings from middle elevations to the subalpine.

Distribution

Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington, including the Olympic Mountains and the northeastern region; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains, also in northeastern North America.

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]