Montana Field Guide

This is a taprooted biennial or short-lived perennial species, with trailing stems rooting at the leaf nodes, and erect stems up to 20 cm tall. The basal leaves are lance-shaped, broadest above the middle, and up to 5 cm long, including the petiole. The stem leaves are linear and 1-3 cm long. The herbage is covered with appressed hairs. The flowering heads are solitary at the ends of the stalks. The involucral bracts are 3-5 mm long, and usually covered with fine hair and glands. The 50-100 rays that compose the "petals" of the flowering head are white to pink and 5-10 mm long. The "seeds" (achenes) have 10-15 fine bristles at the top.

Flowering late June through August.

The leafy stolons distinguish this species from all other members of the genus.

Open soil in meadows and open forest in the montane zone.

POLLINATORS
The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap: Bombus bifarius, Bombus centralis, Bombus fervidus, Bombus flavifrons, Bombus huntii, Bombus melanopygus, Bombus mixtus, Bombus rufocinctus, Bombus occidentalis, and Bombus insularis (Thorp et al. 1983, Wilson et al. 2010, Colla and Dumesh 2010, Koch et al. 2012).