| Arnica latifolia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Wenatchee National Forest, Washington | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Genus: | Arnica |
| Species: | A. latifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Arnica latifolia | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
Synonymy
| |
Arnica latifolia is a species of arnica in the sunflower family, known by the common names broadleaf arnica, broad leaved arnica, mountain arnica, and daffodil leopardbane. [2] It is native to western North America from Alaska east to Northwest Territories and south to Mono County, California, and Taos County, New Mexico. [3] [4] It grows in mountain habitat such as forest and meadows.
Arnica latifolia is a perennial herb growing from a long rhizome and producing a hairy, mostly naked stem 10 to 50 centimeters tall. It has a cluster of leaves around its base and usually a few pairs along the lower part of the stem. The leaves are lance-shaped to broad and nearly heart-shaped, and are usually toothed. [5]
The inflorescence contains one or more daisy-like flower heads lined in glandular phyllaries. Each has a center of yellow disc florets and several yellow ray florets up to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is an achene with a white pappus. [5]
The plant was first described in 1832 by German-Russian botanist Gustav Heinrich von Bongard, based on material collected near Sitka, now in Alaska (then called Russian America). [6] [7] [8]
The species could be confused with the similar Arnica cordifolia , from which it can be distinguished by the leaves. [9]
