About Arnica fulgens Pursh
Arnica fulgens Pursh is a species of arnica commonly called foothill arnica and hillside arnica. It is native to western North America, ranging from British Columbia east to Saskatchewan, and south to Inyo County, California and McKinley County, New Mexico. It grows in open, grassy areas. Arnica fulgens is a perennial herb that grows from a short, tough rhizome. It produces one or more hairy, glandular, mostly leafless stems that reach 10 to 60 centimeters in height. Most of its leaves grow around the base of the plant; they are broadly lance-shaped to oval-shaped, with tufts of woolly fibers in their leaf axils, and can grow up to 12 centimeters long. A few much shorter leaves may grow further up the stem. The inflorescence usually holds one, sometimes 2 or 3, daisylike flower heads lined with hairy phyllaries. Each flower head has a center of glandular golden disc florets, surrounded by golden ray florets that measure 1 to 3 centimeters long. The fruit is an achene with a hairy body half a centimeter long, topped with a light-colored pappus. This plant flowers from May to July. To avoid heat and drought, Arnica fulgens dies back to its rootstalk and re-sprouts the following spring. In cultivation, hillside arnica is valued by wildflower gardeners for its large yellow flowers borne on tall stalks. Plant author Claude Barr described its flowers as "Elegantly finished...". This species prefers to grow in rich loam soils.
