Northern Arnica

Gooseberry Falls may be Minnesota’s most visited state park, but of all the rivers leading into Superior on the North Shore it is one of the least known to me. Precisely because I usually avoid all the people. But with rain off and on, and looking to continue in the forecast, I figured it was worth stopping. As suspected, not many people were there. There was one species I knew grows along the river that I’ve wanted to see for a while, but had just never gotten around to. I was hoping to find it while looking for metallophytic lichens, but no luck. It took a while to hike to a spot that looked like it would grow. Once I got to the right habitat it took next to no time to find. Of course the species in question is northern arnica. 

Northern arnica (Arnica lonchophylla)
State Threatened Species 

Up close

Habitat along the river 

An angle from slightly upstream

Along the river

Downstream of one of the falls

Other species of interest:


Shag-belly stippleback lichen (Dermatocarpon moulinsii)
State Endangered Species

Black hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii)
State Special Concern Species

Smooth woodsia (Woodsia glabella)?
State Threatened Species

Enchylium tenax?
State Watchlist Species

















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