[2] It is native to the Klamath Mountains and nearby southern Cascade Range in northern California (Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity Counties) and southern Oregon (Josephine, Douglas, Klamath, and Deschutes Counties).

[2] Arnica viscosa is a perennial herb usually producing one or more hairy, glandular stems 20 to 50 centimeters tall.

There are five to ten pairs of oblong leaves along the stem each a few centimeters long.

[2][5] The inflorescence bears many flower heads lined with hairy, glandular phyllaries.

[2][5] The fruit is an achene about 5 or 6 millimeters long, not counting its white to brownish pappus.