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.