Mountain avens

Dryas spp.

Mountain avens are a mat-forming plant with small (3-16 mm in length), oblong or ovate leaves. The leaves are dark green in color with wavy indentions perpendicular to a single mid-vein, are slightly dentate (toothed), and slightly rolled under on the edges. There are usually many older dead, brown leaves in the mat. Many single-stemmed flowers are typically found in the plant. Each flower has 8 white or cream-colored petals 9-14 mm across, the flower being 1.25-2 cm (0.5-0.75 in) across. It has many densely packed, yellow stamens. Mountain avens display heliotropism, tracking the sun throughout the day to maximize the amount of solar radiation hitting the flower Mountain avens have a circumpolar distribution across the entire Arctic including Europe and Asia. In the United States and Canada, their range descends into British Columbia, Alberta, the Pacific Northwest states, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. They live in rocky areas, alpine ridges, tundra, and alpine meadows in full sun.