Burke: Arnica latifolia vs. Arnica nevadensis

	Arnica latifolia	Arnica nevadensis
	broad-leaved arnica, mountain arnica, daffodil leopardbane	Nevada arnica, Sierra arnica, Sierran leopardbane
Habit	Perennial, 1-6 dm. tall, glandular at least above.	Perennial from long, naked, branched rhizomes, 1-3 dm. tall, glandular throughout, the stems often solitary.
Leaves	Broad, long-petiolate basal leaves sometimes on short separate stalks; cauline leaves 2-4 pairs, lance-elliptic or broader, rarely cordate, more or less toothed, 2-14 cm. long and 1-8 cm. wide, the middle ones larger than the lower.	Cauline leaves 2-3 pairs, the lower larger and petiolate, the blade broadly ovate with rounded to sub-cordate base, 3-7 cm. long and 2-4 cm. wide; the long-petiolate basal leaves, similar to the lower leaves, often on separate short shoots.
Flowers	Heads 1-several; involucre 7-18 mm. high, more or less glandular; pappus white, barbellate.	Heads 1-3; involucre 10-15 mm. high, densely covered with short-stalked glands; pappus white to straw-colored, strongly barbellate.
Fruits	Achenes glabrous, at least toward the base.	Achenes uniformly glandular or short hairy or both.

	Arnica latifolia	Arnica nevadensis
Identification notes	The similar Arnica cordifolia has larger heads, frequently solitary; its leaves and achenes are pubescent.	The similar Arnica cordifolia has copius long, white hairs on the involucre, while A. nevadensis is only glandular; also, A. nevadensis has entire leaves, while A. cordifolia usually has toothed leaves.
Flowering time	June-August	June-August
Habitat	Common in forest openings and meadows, and open, rocky areas from middle to high elevations in the mountains.	Open, rocky slopes and forest openings in the subalpine and alpine.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring in the Cascades and Olympic mountains 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. lanceolata, A. longifolia, A. mollis, A. nevadensis, A. ovata, A. parryi, A. rydbergii, A. sororia	A. chamissonis, A. cordifolia, A. discoidea, A. fulgens, A. gracilis, A. lanceolata, A. latifolia, A. longifolia, A. mollis, A. ovata, A. parryi, A. rydbergii, A. sororia
Web links	Local floras: BC, CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria, Turner Photog. 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, Turner Photog. WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Arnica nevadensis

broad-leaved arnica, mountain arnica, daffodil leopardbane

Nevada arnica, Sierra arnica, Sierran leopardbane

Habit

Perennial, 1-6 dm. tall, glandular at least above.

Perennial from long, naked, branched rhizomes, 1-3 dm. tall, glandular throughout, the stems often solitary.

Leaves

Broad, long-petiolate basal leaves sometimes on short separate stalks; cauline leaves 2-4 pairs, lance-elliptic or broader, rarely cordate, more or less toothed, 2-14 cm. long and 1-8 cm. wide, the middle ones larger than the lower.

Cauline leaves 2-3 pairs, the lower larger and petiolate, the blade broadly ovate with rounded to sub-cordate base, 3-7 cm. long and 2-4 cm. wide; the long-petiolate basal leaves, similar to the lower leaves, often on separate short shoots.

Flowers

Heads 1-several;

involucre 7-18 mm. high, more or less glandular;

pappus white, barbellate.

Heads 1-3;

involucre 10-15 mm. high, densely covered with short-stalked glands;

pappus white to straw-colored, strongly barbellate.

Fruits

Achenes glabrous, at least toward the base.

Achenes uniformly glandular or short hairy or both.

Arnica latifolia

Arnica nevadensis

Identification notes

The similar Arnica cordifolia has larger heads, frequently solitary; its leaves and achenes are pubescent.

The similar Arnica cordifolia has copius long, white hairs on the involucre, while A. nevadensis is only glandular; also, A. nevadensis has entire leaves, while A. cordifolia usually has toothed leaves.

Flowering time

June-August

Habitat

Common in forest openings and meadows, and open, rocky areas from middle to high elevations in the mountains.

Open, rocky slopes and forest openings in the subalpine and alpine.

Distribution