General:
Perennial herb from short, stout rhizomes, and black, fibrous roots; flowering stems 5-20 cm tall, glandular-hairy.

Leaves:
Basal leaves in a rosette, leathery, oblanceolate to spoon- or egg-shaped, 1.2-4.5 cm long, 4-16 mm wide, 9- to 21-toothed, gradually tapered at base, sparsely soft-hairy to smooth, sometimes rusty-hairy, fringed; stem leaves lacking.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of 1 to 3 dense clusters of flowers; petals white to pink, 2-3 mm long, egg-shaped to lanceolate, slightly clawed; calyx lobes green to purplish, egg-shaped to triangular, 1-3 mm long, erect; stamens 10.

Fruits:
Capsules, 5-7 mm long.

Notes:
Plants with rust-coloured hairs on the leaf stalks and underside of the leaves have been recognized as var. tenuis Wahl. They are generally of somewhat smaller stature and more delicate than typical S. nivalis. The distribution of var. tenuis in BC remains to be established.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Micranthes nivalis (L.) Small