''Arnica mollis'' is a

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

n species of

arnica ''Arnica'' is a genus of perennial plant, perennial, herbaceous plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The genus name ''Arnica'' may be derived from the Greek language, Greek ''wikt:arni, arni'', "lamb", in reference to the plants' soft, h ...

in the sunflower family, known by the common name soft arnica,Great Basin Wildflowers, Laird R. Blackwell, 2006, Morris Book Publishing LLC., or hairy arnica. It is native to Canada ( British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and all 3 Arctic territories) and the United States ( Alaska and the western mountains as far south as San Bernardino County, California and

Rio Arriba County Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...

, New Mexico. There are also isolated populations in the White Mountains of Coos County, New Hampshire.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref> The species grows in subalpine mountain habitat such as meadows and streambanks.Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 372 ''Hairy arnica'' Arnica mollis Hooker, Fl. Bor.-Amer. 1: 331. 1834.
/ref> ''Arnica mollis'' is a perennial herb producing one or more hairy, glandular, mostly naked stems 20 to 60 centimeters tall. There are 3 to 5 pairs of leaves along mainly the lower half of the stem, each oblong in shape and 4 to 20 centimeters in length. The inflorescence holds one to a few daisylike

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

with centers of yellow disc florets and fringes of yellow ray florets. The fruit is an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

with a brownish pappus. "Mollis" means "soft", referring to the soft hairs on the leaves.

References

External links

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Jepson Manual TreatmentUnited States Department of Agriculture Plants ProfileCalphotos Photo gallery, University of California

mollis Mollis is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Mollis is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord. History Mollis is first mentioned in 1288. Geography Mollis has an area, , of . Of this ...

Plants described in 1834 Flora of Subarctic America Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Asteroideae-stub