''Arnica parryi'' 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
flowering plant known by the common names Parry's arnica or nodding arnica. It is native to western
Canada (
Yukon,
British Columbia,
Alberta) and the
western United States as far south as
Inyo County,
California and
McKinley County
McKinley County is a county in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 71,367. Its county seat is Gallup. The county was created in 1901 and named for President William M ...
,
New Mexico. It grows in
temperate coniferous forests and alpine meadows in mountainous areas, primarily the
Rocky Mountains,
Cascades, and
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
.
Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref>
''Arnica parryi'' is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a single unbranched stem to heights between 10 and 60 centimeters. There are oval-shaped leaves around the base of the stem and a few pairs of longer, narrower petioled leaves above them. The leaves may approach 20 centimeters in length on larger individuals.[Flora of North America Vol. 21 Page 373 Parry’s arnica, nodding arnica Arnica parryi A. Gray, Amer. Naturalist. 8: 213. 1874.]
/ref>
The inflorescence holds one to several 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 ...
, which nod as buds and then pull erect when the face opens. Each head has a center filled with yellow disc florets and usually no ray florets. The fruit is a cylindrical 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 ...
about half a centimeter long with a bristly pappus.[
]
References
External links
*
Jepson Manual Treatmentunited States Department of Agriculture Plants ProfileCallphotos Photo gallery, University of California
parryi
Flora of Yukon
Plants described in 1874
Flora of Western Canada
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the Southwestern United States
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Madieae-stub