This alpine beauty was spotted on the way to Lake Oesa in Yoho National Park. In 10 days of exploration of Yoho, Banff, Jasper, and Kootenay National Parks, this is the only specimen of this kind of plant we spotted anywhere. I will hazard a guess that it is a Potentilla of some sort, but I hope that someone out there is able to identify the plant more precisely. I am intrigued by the write-up that went along with a similar photo on the March 26, 2010 Botany Photo of the Day.
The plant in the photo was about 10 - 12 cm (4 inches) across, in its entirety. The leaves were 2 cm (or smaller) and the flower was 3 cm (or so) across.
