Mountain Avens
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Mountain Avens or White Dryas (Dryas octopetala) is a alpine and arctic flowering plant in the Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies, and is a popular flower in rock gardens. The taxonomic name octopetala derives from the Greek octo (eight) and petalon (petal), referring to the eight petals of the flower, an unusual number in the Rosaceae, with five being the normal number.
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It has a widespread occurrence throughout mountainous areas where it is generally restricted to limestone outcrops. It occurs in Great Britain in the Pennines (northern England), at two locations in Snowdonia (north Wales), and more widely in the Scottish Highlands; in Ireland it occurs on The Burren and a few other sites. It is widespread in Scandinavia, across northern Russia, and in North America from Alaska south to Colorado in the Rocky Mountains.
The stems are woody, tortuose, with short, horizontal rooting branches. The leaves are glabrous above, densely white-tomentose beneath. The flowers are produced on stalks 3-10 cm long, and have eight creamy white petals. The style is persistent on the fruit with white feathery hairs, functioning as a wind-dispersal agent.
It grows in dry localities where snow melts early, on gravel and rocky barrens, forming a distinct heath community on calcareous soils.
See also
Dryas_octopetala_Liechtenstein.jpg