Snow Douglasii

Appearance

General:
Mat-forming perennial herbs, the stems ascending, dichotomously branched, grayish overall with dense, fine, stellate pubescence.
Leaves:
Leaves in rosettes at the end of the branches, linear to oblanceolate, 1-3 cm. long and 1.5-4 mm. broad, entire to serrate.
Flowers:
Flowers in umbels on peduncles 1-7 cm. long; umbels 2- to 8-flowered, the pedicels 3-40 mm. long, subtended by an involucre of 4-10 lanceolate bracts 3-8 mm. long; calyx united its length, 6-7 mm. long, the 5 lobes deltoid, acuminate; corolla bright red to magenta-purple, the tube equaling the calyx, the 5 lobes ovate and wedge-shaped, rounded, 4-5 mm. long; stamens 5, opposite the corolla lobes, attached above mid-length on the corolla.
Fruits:
Capsule opening by 5 valves

Naming

Douglasia dentata S. Watson
Douglasia nivalis Lindl. var. dentata (S. Watson) A. Gray [KZ99]
Douglasia nivalis Lindl. var. nivalis [KZ99]
Primula dentata Kuntze

Distribution

Wenatchee Mountains of Kittitas County, Washington, north into Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties.

Habitat

Sagebrush slopes to alpine ridges and talus, often in serpentine soils.