Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Dryas octopetala

This pretty wildflower was growing up in the mountains at Ptarmigan Cirque two days ago. A member of the Rose family, it grows on alpine slopes June-July. The white flower is 2-4 cm across, has 8-10 hairy sepals, 8 petals, and numerous stamens and pistils. Love to see it growing against the rocks like this.

There were carpets of these pretty, native wildflowers in the alpine meadows at Plateau Mountain, July 17th. "Dryas octopetala (common names include mountain avens, white dryas, and white dryad) is an arctic-alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies, and is a popular flower in rock gardens. The specific epithet octopetala derives from the Greek octo (eight) and petalon (petal), referring to the eight petals of the flower, an unusual number in the Rosaceae, where five is the normal number." From Wikipedia.

I think I'm right in saying that this is White Mountain Avens. Saw it high up at Ptarmigan Cirque, Kananaskis, last year. Even a splash or two of orange Lichen - hey, Doug, maybe your eyes will go straight to the Lichen, LOL! I've only been maybe four or five times, but it is one of my favourite places.