In late July 2007 we camped for a couple of days on an island of the Colville River, North Slope, Alaska, 6 miles before reaching the Arctic Ocean. I took a number of flower pictures and have been pretty good at finding most of them. But I need help from you folks on this one. I am attaching 2 pictures. One showing the flower the second one showing the stem and possibly the leaves. Dickie Byrd
Thank you Michael. I had already named it Dryas octopetala but after looking closer I decided that is not what it was. The stem on my flower is longer and thinner than what I find on D. octopetala. Also, the basil leaves of the D. octopetala are very promenant, much wider and notched. The leaves on my flower, (if those are actually the right leaves), are long and narrow on long stems. We have quite a number of Dryas in the wilds up here but D. octopetala is the only one that cames close to my flower as far as I can find. Dickie Byrd
The stem length would probably just vary with growing conditions... growing in grass, as is the case here, the flowers would likely have longer stems than if growing in full sun in scree. But I agree with the comment about the leaf edges not resembling D. octopetala... they are "coarsely incised-crenate" (Moss, Packer) on D. octopetala (though the width doesn't look unusual for this species). Compare to D. integrifolia - for which the leaf margins are "entire or with a few teeth in the lower half" (same reference). It occurs in Alaska... (needless to say... wouldn't have suggested it if not ;>) http://linnet.geog.ubc.ca/ShowDBImage/Gallery.aspx?latinName=dryas integrifolia
Must admit I was a bit dubious on the leaf shape too (why I just said 'Compare ...'), but was noting your uncertainty as to whether those leaves in the second pic actually belonged to the same plant.
Thank you Michael. I am going to go with D. octopetala until I can find out more. Once I finish going through the pictures of this trip, (I only have 3 days of it to go, about 350 pictures), I will see if I can find an "expert" at our local Univeristy of Alaska, Fairbanks that will help me. Dickie
I'm not following the logic, though it's up to you, of course. Why "go" with D. octopetala when the most distinctive distinguishing characteristic of the white dryad species- whether the leaf edges are entire or toothed - doesn't match D. octopetala but does align with D. integrifolia? The only non-grass leaves that I see in the photo all appear to be entire. That is, I don't see any leaves in the photo that look like D. octopetala.
Thank you very much for joining in on this abgardeneer. I appericate all the help I can get. The D. integrifolia that I see often on the alpine summits around Fairbanks do not look like this plant. They are short with very short stems. The whole plant is just a little bit taller than the leaves seen in the picture. The leaves form a mat on the ground and are around an inch long, (25.4mm). The flower and stem of the D. integrifolia around here are from 4 to 6 inches tall. This flower and stem is around 8 inches tall. I have gone with the other plant, but only as something to name it by, (I am trying very hard to not fill my computer database with "Unknow white flower".) (GRIN) I do flag it for further research and will be making visit of our local University of Alaska in hopes of getting it correct. Dickie
See if this info helps: http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/_ca/www/rodrin.htm States that D. integrifolia can reach 15 (rarely 17) cm tall.
Habitat/growing conditions influence plant form - height, stem lengths, etc. - within a certain range. That's the point I was attempting to make when I mentioned the differences in how a plant might grow in harsher alpine conditions versus in lowland conditions, where life is a little easier but where there may be competition from other plants (such as the grasses in the photo - flower stems might have to elongate to get the flowers up over the "understory", so to speak).
Thank you. I hope that Michael reads this reply also. I want to thank him. I took this one back to my old books and looked at some more Internet WEB pages. I can lean more toward the D. integrifolia now. I still am not happy with the basil leaf difference though. But I am not all that possitive that the leaves in my picture actually belong to that flower. Now, to get up to the University of Alaska and see if there is someone up there who has Arctic flora as their specialty. Dickie
Thanks! Yep, knowing what flowers belong to what foliage can be tricky at times without close poking around. Somewhere I've got a photo I took of a Magnolia flower "growing out of" some Lawson's Cypress foliage . . it looks weird!
I have received communications from Carolyn Parker who was recommended to my by the Univeristy of Alaska, Fairbanks. She convirms that this flower is Dryas intergrifola. She says there is variation in leaf shape and margin. I thank all of you who have helped me on this. Dickie Byrd
