Densely mat to low cushion-forming 10-30cm across. Leaves narrowly awl-shaped, 6-12mm long, with cartilaginous, ciliate margins. Flowers solitary, just above the foliage, 4-12mm across, usually deep pink but variable, summer. Circumpolar and mountains farther south, among rocks, rock detritus and short grassland. A variable species in most of its main characters. S.a. subsp. exscapa has very short flowering stems, subsp. longiscapa (syn. elongata and pedunculata) has stems 2-6cm high. S.a. 'Alba' is white flowered, 'Flore Pleno' (syn. 'Cenisia'), is double. Var. pannonica and dianthifolia are names used for looser taller growing and larger-flowered forms often with yellowish-green foliage. S.a. 'Snowdon' is a very small, neat moss-like variant with equally tiny flowers. Other cultivars varying in shades of pink to almost red are commercially available. [Pl.469]
a, S. acaulis; b, S. hookeri; c, S. schafta;
