We are trying to id a wildflower we saw in the Entiat Range of Central Washington. Fairly low elevation- 2500'-3000'. Seen on May 8. We only saw 3 plants total during the day. Other flowers in bloom in the area were Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Larkspur, Brodiaea, Lomatium, and occasional Phlox. We think it might be Douglasia nivalis, but the leaf doesn't quite look right.
Yes: wrong habit and leaf. Quite ornamental, whatever it is. Looks like something you'd see in a pot at a garden center.
I think you are right about it being Douglasia nivalis. Check out the photo of a nearly identical specimen on page 93 of Graham Nicholls, "Alpine Plants of North America". He notes that although D. nivens is usually scraggly, he has come across a form from BC that grows in a "low, tight dome and stemless flowers". It is odd that the leaves are so smooth, but there is some reduction of dentation recognized in the species as the dentata variation shows. Hitchcock allows that the leaves are "various". Beautiful plant!
It is, in fact, Graham Nichols book that led us to the tentative id. The range is right, tho I felt we were a little low in elevation. We are pretty familiar with the wildflowers in the area, but hadn't seen this before.
Leaf shape and arrangement is wrong for that - compare these: http://hem.spray.se/saxifraga/images/Saxifraga-oppositifolia.jpg http://androsace.org/data/large/The European Alps/Saxifragaceae/Saxifraga oppositifolia.jpeg The calyces remind me of something Caryophyllaceae. Possibly Silene acaulis? http://botany.cs.tamu.edu/FLORA/dcs420/mi05/mi05070.jpg http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Pink Enlarged Photos/5siac.jpg http://floracyberia.net/spermatophyta/angiospermae/dicotyledoneae/caryophyllaceae/silene_acaulis.jpg
Not Saxifraga oppositifolia- we are familiar with that saxifrage and this is not it. Also familiar with Silene acaulis, and again, ruled that out. Unfortunately, we did not have any flower keys with us when we saw it, so could only go on the photographs for identification.
