Burke: Arnica ovata vs. Arnica mollis

	Arnica ovata	Arnica mollis
	sticky arnica, sticky-leaf arnica	cordilleran arnica, hairy arnica, cordilleran leopardbane
Habit	Perennial from a freely rooting rhizome, the stems solitary or tufted, 1.5-4 dm. tall.	Perennial from freely rooting rhizomes, 2-6 dm. tall.
Leaves	Cauline leaves 3-4 pairs, mostly sessile, ovate to deltoid or elliptic, irregularly toothed, the middle ones the largest, with blades 4-8 cm. long and 2-6 cm. wide.	Cauline leaves 3-4 pairs, sessile, only slightly reduced upward, lanceolate to narrowly ovate or elliptic, irregularly dentate to entire.
Flowers	Heads generally several, narrow, with few disk flowers; involucre 10-14 mm. high with pointed bracts, covered with stalked glands; rays about 8 or about 13, 1.5-2 cm. long; pappus straw-colored, sub-plumose.	Heads few or solitary; involucre 10-16 mm. high, the bracts pointed, long-hairy at the base; rays 12-18, 1.5-2.5 cm. long; pappus tawny, sub-plumose.
Fruits	Achene.	Achene

	Arnica ovata	Arnica mollis
Flowering time	July-September	June-September
Habitat	Rocky places from middle elevations to the subalpine and alpine.	Moist meadows from middle elevations to the alpine.
Distribution	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest in Washington; Alaska to California, east to Montana and Utah. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	Occurring on both sides of the Cascades crest and in the Olympic Mountains in Washington; Alaska to California, east to the Rocky Mountains. [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. latifolia, A. longifolia, A. mollis, A. nevadensis, A. parryi, A. rydbergii, A. sororia	A. chamissonis, A. cordifolia, A. discoidea, A. fulgens, A. gracilis, A. lanceolata, A. latifolia, A. longifolia, A. nevadensis, 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 WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	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

Arnica ovata

Arnica mollis

sticky arnica, sticky-leaf arnica

cordilleran arnica, hairy arnica, cordilleran leopardbane

Habit

Perennial from a freely rooting rhizome, the stems solitary or tufted, 1.5-4 dm. tall.

Perennial from freely rooting rhizomes, 2-6 dm. tall.

Leaves

Cauline leaves 3-4 pairs, mostly sessile, ovate to deltoid or elliptic, irregularly toothed, the middle ones the largest, with blades 4-8 cm. long and 2-6 cm. wide.

Cauline leaves 3-4 pairs, sessile, only slightly reduced upward, lanceolate to narrowly ovate or elliptic, irregularly dentate to entire.

Flowers

Heads generally several, narrow, with few disk flowers;

involucre 10-14 mm. high with pointed bracts, covered with stalked glands;

rays about 8 or about 13, 1.5-2 cm. long;

pappus straw-colored, sub-plumose.

Heads few or solitary;

involucre 10-16 mm. high, the bracts pointed, long-hairy at the base;

rays 12-18, 1.5-2.5 cm. long;

pappus tawny, sub-plumose.

Fruits

Achene.