Arnica parryi
Nodding arnica
Family: Asteraceae · Type: perennial · Native
Nodding arnica is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, southern North Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and White and Inyo Mountains in open conifer forests and alpine meadows at elevations of 500 to 3,630 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces yellow ray flowers with yellow disk flowers in heads that nod while in bud. Growing 10 to 60 centimeters tall with a single, generally unbranched stem emerging from a short, freely rooting rhizome, it has soft-spreading hairs near the base. Its basal leaves are roughly ovate and nearly sessile, while stem leaves include 3 to 4 pairs of lanceolate to ovate blades, with lower pairs widely spaced and up to 20 centimeters long. The fruit is 4 to 6 millimeters long with a brown-yellow plumose pappus.
Habitat: Open conifer forest to alpine meadows
Bloom period: Jul-Aug
Elevation: 500-3630 m
Bioregions: KR, s NCoRH, SNH, W&I
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.