Introductory
SPECIES: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica 



ABBREVIATION : 
ARNCOR

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ARCO9


COMMON NAMES : 
   heartleaf arnica
   heart-leaved arnica


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of heartleaf arnica is Arnica
cordifolia Hook. [15,34].  It is a member of the Asteraceae family.
Recognized varieties are [21,29]:

        Arnica cordifolia var. cordifolia
        A. cordifolia var. pumila (Rydb.) Maquire


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
William R. Reed, September 1993


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Reed, William R. 1993. Arnica cordifolia. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Heartleaf arnica is found from Alaska east to Saskatchewan and south to
northern Mexico and Nebraska [34,44].  A disjunct population occurs on
the Keweenaw Peninsula of northern Michigan [18].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES11  Spruce - fir
   FRES17  Elm - ash - cottonwood
   FRES19  Aspen - birch
   FRES20  Douglas-fir
   FRES21  Ponderosa pine
   FRES22  Western white pine
   FRES23  Fir - spruce
   FRES25  Larch
   FRES26  Lodgepole pine
   FRES28  Western hardwoods
   FRES29  Sagebrush
   FRES34  Chaparral - mountain shrub
   FRES35  Pinyon - juniper
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands
   FRES38  Plains grasslands
   FRES44  Alpine


STATES : 
     AL  AZ  CA  CO  ID  MI  MT  NE  NM  ND
     OR  SD  UT  WA  WY  AB  BC  SK  YT  MEXICO


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     BIHO  BICA  BLCA  BRCA  CEBR  CRLA
     CRMO  DINO  FOBU  GLAC  GRCA  GRTE
     GRBA  MORA  NOCA  OLYM  ROMO  TICA
     YELL  YOSE  ZION


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming Basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K007  Red fir forest
   K008  Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K013  Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
   K015  Western spruce - fir forest
   K016  Eastern ponderosa forest
   K017  Black Hills pine forest
   K018  Pine - Douglas-fir forest
   K021  Southwestern spruce - fir forest
   K023  Juniper - pinyon woodland
   K029  California mixed evergreen forest
   K037  Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
   K052  Alpine meadows and barren
   K055  Sagebrush steppe
   K098  Northern floodplain forest


SAF COVER TYPES : 
   201  White spruce
   204  Black spruce
   205  Mountain hemlock
   206  Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
   207  Red fir
   208  Whitebark pine
   209  Bristlecone pine
   256  California mixed subalpine
   210  Interior Douglas-fir
   211  White fir
   212  Western larch
   213  Grand fir
   215  Western white pine
   216  Blue spruce
   217  Aspen
   218  Lodgepole pine
   219  Limber pine
   224  Western hemlock
   228  Western redcedar
   237  Interior ponderosa pine


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
Heartleaf arnica is a dominant ground cover in many forest communities
of the West.  Publications listing heartleaf arnica as a dominant or
indicator species are:

Classification of the forest vegetation of Wyoming [1]
Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of central Idaho [10]
Forest vegetation of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in
   central Colorado:  a habitat type classification [20]
Forest vegetation of Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming: a habitat type
   classification [22]
Plant associations of the Fremont National Forest [23]
Forest vegetation of the Gunnison and parts of the Uncompahgre National
   Forests:  a preliminary habitat type classification [26]

Common plant associates of heartleaf arnica include huckleberry
(Vaccinium spp.), sweetscented bedstraw (Galium triflorum), queencup
beadlily (Clintonia uniflora), twinflower (Linnaea borealis), pussytoes
(Antennaria spp.), timber milkvetch (Astragalus miser), elk sedge (Carex
geyeri), and bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata).

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
In northern Utah heartleaf arnica is an important constituent of summer
diets of mule deer and elk [9].  Deschamps and Urness [12] found it
comprised 24 percent of summer deer diets in mature lodgepole pine
(Pinus contorta) forests in Utah.


PALATABILITY : 
In Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, the palatability of heartleaf
arnica is rated poor to fair for cattle, fair to good for sheep, and
poor for horses [13].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Heartleaf arnica is rated fair in nutritional value for pronghorn,
upland game birds, small mammals, and small nongame mammals.  It is
rated fair to good in nutritional value for elk and deer [13].


COVER VALUE : 
Heartleaf arnica provides poor cover for wildlife [13].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Heartleaf arnica has low resistance to repeated human trampling [8,37].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Heartleaf arnica showed a substantial increase after heavy thinning of
lodgepole pine stands in Utah.  Production increased from 6.05 pounds
per acre (1.1 kg/ha) before treatment to 83.6 pounds per acre (15.2
kg/ha) 4 years after treatment [2].

Heartleaf arnica cover increased from 0.3 percent to 5.0 percent
following clearcutting in a subalpine forest in central Colorado [11].

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Heartleaf arnica is a native, perennial herb 6 to 24 inches (15-60 cm)
tall, with upright stems arising singly from long, slender, creeping
rhizomes [18].  Rhizomes grow laterally 0.4 to 0.8 inches (1-2 cm) below
the soil surface [7].  Root depths of 24 inches (60.9 cm) have been
recorded in Montana [35].

The life span of heartleaf arnica is estimated at 12 years [6].




RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Geophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Sexual:  Heartleaf arnica reproduces by wind-dispersed seed [6,7].  In
central Idaho, Kramer and Johnson [27] found 25 percent of heartleaf
arnica seed was in the upper 2 inches (5 cm) of soil, while 75 percent
was 2 to 5 inches (5-10 cm) below the soil surface.

Asexual:  Heartleaf arnica sprouts from rhizomes [7,24,32].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Heartleaf arnica occurs in boreal and cool temperate climates.  It is
commonly found in open-canopy coniferous forests on high elevation
water-shedding sites.  It often inhabits exposed, moderately dry mineral
soils, but occurs on a variety of soil types [25].  In California it is
found from 3,500 to 10,000 feet (1,050-3,000 m), in dry to moist open or
wooded places [33].  In Utah it is found from 5,000 to 11,000 feet
(1,525-3,355 m) [44].  Occurrence increases with elevation.  In the
Madison Range of Montana it is the primary ground cover in subalpine fir
(Abies lasiocarpa) forests above 9,000 feet (2,723 m) [36].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Heartleaf arnica is tolerant of both sun and shade, and may be present
from initial to late seres [42,47].  Geier-Hayes found it increased the
first 2 years following logging in a Douglas-fir/white spiraea
(Pseudotsuga mensiesii/Spiraea betulifolia) habitat type in central
Idaho [17].  This was probably due to mass flowering, which occurs 1 to
2 years after disturbance [41].  Heartleaf arnica importance apparently
decreases within a few years after disturbance-induced mass flowering
and increases again in later seres, possibly through vegetative
reproduction.  Steele and Geier-Hayes [46] found it reached highest
coverage in late seral stages of the grand fir/globe huckleberry (Abies
grandis/Vaccinium globulare) habitat type of central Idaho.  It is a
near-climax indicator of that habitat type.


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Heartleaf arnica flowers from May through August in California [33] and
May through September in Colorado [13].  In Montana, flowering begins in
early June, fruits ripen in mid-July, and seeds are dispersed at the end
of July [40].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
Heartleaf arnica is moderately fire resistant [31,37], typically
sprouting from surviving rhizomes after fire [7,24,32].  It also
regenerates from wind-dispersed seed [7,45], and from seed resulting
from mass flowering at postfire year 1 or 2 [42].


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)
   Secondary colonizer - on-site seed

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica 



IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT : 
Heartleaf arnica is top-killed by fire.  Rhizomes often survive.  It is
rated as susceptible [7,31] to intermediate [24] in resistance to fire
damage.  This probably varies according to how far below the soil
surface rhizomes are buried.


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT : 
NO-ENTRY


PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE : 
Heartleaf arnica is apparently reduced by "high intensity" fires
[24,30], but responds to "less intense" fires through rapid initial
vegetative regrowth accompanied by heavy flowering and seedling
establishment [24,42].  This is typically followed by a decline in cover
and frequency within a few years [17].  Heartleaf arnica had the highest
frequency and cover of all forbs 2 years following a severe fire
(greater than 90 percent mortality of all trees) in a spruce-fir
(Picea-Abies) ecosystem in Wyoming [3].  Frequency and cover values
increased for 2 years following logging and broadcast burning in a
Douglas-fir habitat type in Idaho.  This trend was followed by a decline
to 0 percent cover by postfire year 10 [17].

According to Barth, light, moisture, and soil depth are important
factors determining the postfire density of heartleaf arnica [4].


DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE : 
NO-ENTRY


FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY

References for species: Arnica cordifolia

1. Alexander, Robert R. 1986. Classification of the forest vegetation of Wyoming. Res. Note RM-466. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 10 p. [304]

2. Austin, D. D.; Urness, Philip J. 1982. Vegetal responses and big game values after thinning regenerating lodgepole pine. The Great Basin Naturalist. 42(4): 512-516. [8354]

3. Barmore, William J., Jr.; Taylor, Dale; Hayden, Peter. 1976. Ecological effects and biotic succession following the 1974 Waterfalls Canyon Fire in Grand Teton National Park. Research Progress Report 1974-1975. Unpublished report on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. 99 p. [16109]

4. Barth, Richard C. 1970. Revegetation after a subalpine wildfire. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 142 p. Thesis. [12458]

5. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]

6. Bierzychudek, Paulette. 1982. Life histories and demography of shade-tolerant temperate forest herbs: a review. New Phytologist. 90: 757-776. [19197]

7. Bradley, Anne F.; Noste, Nonan V.; Fischer, William C. 1992. Fire ecology of forests and woodlands of Utah. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-287. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 128 p. [18212]

8. Cole, David N. 1988. Disturbance and recovery of trampled montane grassland and forests in Montana. Res. Pap. INT-389. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 37 p. [3622]

9. Collins, William B.; Urness, Philip J. 1983. Feeding behavior and habitat selection of mule deer and elk on northern Utah summer range. Journal of Wildlife Management. 47(3): 646-663. [6915]

10. Crane, M. F.; Fischer, William C. 1986. Fire ecology of the forest habitat types of central Idaho. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-218. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 85 p. [5297]

11. Crouch, Glenn L. 1985. Effects of clearcutting a subalpine forest in central Colorado on wildlife habitat. Res. Pap. RM-258. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 12 p. [8225]

12. Deschamp, Joseph A.; Urness, Philip J.; Austin, Dennis D. 1979. Summer diets of mule deer from lodgepole pine habitats. Journal of Wildlife Management. 43(1): 154-161. [4524]

13. Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p. [806]

14. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]

15. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p. (Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny Series; vol. 2) [14935]

16. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]

17. Geier-Hayes, Kathleen. 1989. Vegetation response to helicopter logging and broadcast burning in Douglas-fir habitat types at Silver Creek, central Idaho. Res. Pap. INT-405. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 24 p. [6810]

18. Great Plains Flora Association. 1986. Flora of the Great Plains. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 1392 p. [1603]

19. Hall, Frederick C. 1976. Fire and vegetation in the Blue Mountains: implications for land managers. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1974 October 16-17; Portland, Oregon. No. 15. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 155-170. [6272]

20. Hess, Karl; Alexander, Robert R. 1986. Forest vegetation of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in central Colorado: a habitat type classification. Res. Pap. RM-266. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 48 p. [1141]

21. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]

22. Hoffman, George R.; Alexander, Robert R. 1976. Forest vegetation of the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming: a habitat type classification. Res. Pap. RM-170. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 38 p. [1180]

23. Hopkins, William E. 1979. Plant associations of the Fremont National Forest. R6-ECOL-79-004. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region. 106 p. [7340]

24. Keown, Larry D. 1978. Fire management in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, Moose Creek Ranger District, Nezperce National Forest. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region. 163. [18633]

25. Klinka, K.; Krajina, V. J.; Ceska, A.; Scagel, A. M. 1989. Indicator plants of coastal British Columbia. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press. 288 p. [10703]

26. Komarkova, Vera; Alexander, Robert R.; Johnston, Barry C. 1988. Forest vegetation of the Gunnison and parts of the Uncompahgre National Forests: a preliminary habitat type classification. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-163. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 65 p. [5798]

27. Kramer, Neal B.; Johnson, Frederic D. 1987. Mature forest seed banks of three habitat types in central Idaho. Canadian Journal of Botany. 65: 1961-1966. [3961]

28. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]

29. Lackschewitz, Klaus. 1991. Vascular plants of west-central Montana--identification guidebook. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-227. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 648 p. [13798]

30. Lyon, L. Jack. 1971. Vegetal development following prescribed burning of Douglas-fir in south-central Idaho. Res. Pap. INT-105. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 30 p. [1495]

31. McLean, Alastair. 1968. Fire resistance of forest species as influenced by root systems. Journal of Range Management. 22: 120-122. [1621]

32. Mitchell, Jerry M. 1984. Fire management action plan: Zion National Park, Utah. Record of Decision. 73 p. Report on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. [17278]

33. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]

34. Munz, Philip A. 1974. A flora of southern California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1086 p. [4924]

35. Nimlos, Thomas J.; Van Meter, Wayne P.; Daniels, Lewis A. 1968. Rooting patterns of forest understory species as determined by radioiodine absorption. Ecology. 49(6): 1145-1151. [4120]

36. Patten, D. T. 1963. Vegetational pattern in relation to environments in the Madison Range, Montana. Ecological Monographs. 33(4): 375-406. [1836]

37. Powell, David C. 1988. Aspen community types of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests in south-central Colorado. R2-ECOL-88-01. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. 254 p. [15285]

38. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]

39. Regelin, Wayne L.; Wallmo, Olof C. 1978. Duration of deer forage benefits after clearcut logging of subalpine forest in Colorado. RM-356. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 4 p. [4499]

40. Schmidt, Wyman C.; Lotan, James E. 1980. Phenology of common forest flora of the northern Rockies--1928 to 1937. Res. Pap. INT-259. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. 20 p. [2082]

41. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 10 p. [20090]

42. Stickney, Peter F. 1993. Effects of fire on upland forests in the Northern Rocky Mountains. Unpublished paper on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT: 3 p. [21627]

43. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982. National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names. SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]

44. Welsh, Stanley L.; Atwood, N. Duane; Goodrich, Sherel; Higgins, Larry C., eds. 1987. A Utah flora. The Great Basin Naturalist Memoir No. 9. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University. 894 p. [2944]

45. Anderson, Jay E.; Romme, William H. 1991. Initial floristics in lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) forests following the 1988 Yellowstone fires. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 1(2): 119-124. [16008]

46. Steele, Robert; Geier-Hayes, Kathleen. 1987. The grand fir/blue huckleberry habitat type in central Idaho: succession and management. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-228. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 66 p. [8133]

47. Steele, Robert; Geier-Hayes, Kathleen. 1989. The Douglas-fir/ninebark habitat type in central Idaho: succession and management. Gen. Tech. Rep. INT-252. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station. 65 p. [8136]

Related categories for Species: Arnica cordifolia | Heartleaf Arnica