Rayless Arnica (Arnica discoidea)

Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2015.
There are three species of “rayless” arnica in the northwest: parryi, spathulata and this. They are difficult to tell from one another, and we’re not 100 percent sure we’ve identified this one correctly. The spathulata is a Klamath-area endemic. Between the other two, the deciding factor was the wider, sometimes spade-shaped leaves and upright flowerheads more akin to the discoidea (see photo below).

Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2015.

Badger Creek Wilderness, OR, 5/2015.
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