# Dryas octopetala

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Species of flowering plant

Dryas octopetala Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Clade: Embryophytes Clade: Tracheophytes Clade: Spermatophytes Clade: Angiosperms Clade: Eudicots Clade: Rosids Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Dryas Species: D. octopetala Binomial name Dryas octopetala L. Global distribution Synonyms[1] Synonyms list Dryadaea octopetala (L.) Kuntze Dryas ajanensis Juz. Dryas alaskensis Porsild Dryas alpina Salisb. Dryas babingtoniana A.E.Porsild Dryas caucasica Juz. Dryas caucasica Juz. ex Woronow Dryas chamaedrifolia (Crantz) Gray Dryas chamaedrifolioides Pall. Dryas chamaedryoides Pall. Dryas crenata Raf. Dryas depressa (Bab.) Bab. Dryas eriopoda Gand. Dryas henricae auct. Dryas hookeriana Juz. Dryas incanescens Juz. Dryas incisa auct. Dryas lanata Stein ex Correvon Dryas lepida Gand. Dryas montana Bubani Dryas nervosa Juz. Dryas nivea F.Kern. ex Correvon Dryas octopetala var. angustifolia C.L.Hitchc. Dryas octopetala var. camschatica (Juz.) Hultén Dryas octopetala var. depressa Bab. Dryas octopetala f. hirsuta Hartz Dryas octopetala var. luteola Hultén Dryas octopetala subsp. punctata (Juz.) Hultén Dryas octopetala subsp. subincisa Jurtzev Dryas octopetala var. viscida Hultén Dryas octopetala subsp. viscida (Hultén) Kozhevn. Dryas pentaphyllaea Hill Dryas punctata Juz. Dryas punctata var. cinerea Jurtzev Dryas punctata var. kamtschatica (Juz.) Kozhevn. Dryas subincisa (Jurtzev) Tzvelev Dryas subincisa var. minor (Hook.) Tzvelev Dryas tschonoskii Juz. Dryas vagans Juz. Geum chamaedrifolium Crantz Geum octopetalum (L.) E.H.L.Krause Ptilotum octopetalum (L.) Dulac

***Dryas octopetala***, the **mountain avens**,[2] **eightpetal mountain-avens**, **white dryas** or **white dryad**,[3] is an [Arctic–alpine](/source/Arctic%E2%80%93alpine) [flowering plant](/source/Flowering_plant) in the [family](/source/Family_(taxonomy)) [Rosaceae](/source/Rosaceae). It is a small [prostrate](/source/Prostrate_shrub) [evergreen](/source/Evergreen) [subshrub](/source/Subshrub) forming large colonies. The [specific epithet](/source/Specific_name_(botany)) *octopetala* derives from [Greek](/source/Greek_language) *octo* 'eight' and *petalon* '[petal](/source/Petal)', referring to the eight petals of the flower, an unusual number in the Rosaceae, where five is the normal number. However, flowers with up to 16 petals also occur naturally.

As a [floral emblem](/source/Floral_emblem), it is the official territorial flower of the [Northwest Territories](/source/Northwest_Territories) and the national flower of [Iceland](/source/Iceland).

## Description

The stems are woody, tortuous, with short, horizontal rooting branches. The [leaves](/source/Leaf) are glabrous above, densely white-[tomentose](/source/Tomentose) beneath. The [flowers](/source/Flower) are produced on stalks 3–10 cm (1–4 in) long, and have eight creamy white petals – hence the [specific epithet](/source/Botanical_name#Binary_name) *octopetala*.[4] The style is persistent on the [fruit](/source/Fruit) with white feathery hairs, functioning as a wind-dispersal agent. The feathery hairs of the seed head first appear twisted together and glossy before spreading out to an expanded ball which the wind quickly disperses.

## Distribution and habitat

*Dryas octopetala* has a widespread occurrence throughout mountainous areas where it is generally restricted to limestone outcrops. These include the entire [Arctic](/source/Arctic), as well as the mountains of [Scandinavia](/source/Scandinavia), [Iceland](/source/Iceland), the [Alps](/source/Alps), the [Carpathian Mountains](/source/Carpathian_Mountains), the [Balkans](/source/Balkans), the [Caucasus](/source/Caucasus), and in isolated locations elsewhere. In [Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain), it occurs in the [Pennines](/source/Pennines) of [Northern England](/source/Northern_England), at two locations in the [Snowdonia](/source/Snowdonia) region of [North Wales](/source/North_Wales), and more widely in the [Scottish Highlands](/source/Scottish_Highlands). In [Ireland](/source/Ireland), it occurs on [The Burren](/source/The_Burren) and a few other sites. In [North America](/source/North_America), it is found in [Alaska](/source/Alaska), most frequently on previously glaciated terrain, and through the [Canadian Rockies](/source/Canadian_Rockies)[5] reaching as far south as [Colorado](/source/Colorado) in the [Rocky Mountains](/source/Rocky_Mountains). It grows in dry localities where snow melts early, on gravel and rocky barrens, forming a distinct heath community on calcareous [soils](/source/Soil).

## Climatology

The [Younger Dryas](/source/Younger_Dryas), [Older Dryas](/source/Older_Dryas) and [Oldest Dryas](/source/Oldest_Dryas) [stadials](/source/Stadial) are named after *Dryas octopetala*, because of the great quantities of its [pollen](/source/Pollen) found in cores dating from those times. During these cold spells, *Dryas octopetala* was much more widely distributed than it is today, as large parts of the [Northern Hemisphere](/source/Northern_Hemisphere) that are now covered by [forests](/source/Forest) were replaced in the cold periods by [tundra](/source/Tundra).

## Cultivation

*D. octopetala* is cultivated in [temperate](/source/Temperateness) regions as [groundcover](/source/Groundcover), or as an alpine or [rock garden](/source/Rock_garden) plant. It has gained the [Royal Horticultural Society](/source/Royal_Horticultural_Society)'s [Award of Garden Merit](/source/Award_of_Garden_Merit).[6][7] The leaves are occasionally used as an herbal tea.

## Gallery

		- Seed head

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-POWO_1-0)** Govaerts R. ["*Dryas octopetala* L."](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:724675-1) *Plants of the World Online*. Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 14 December 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-BSBI07_2-0)** [*BSBI List 2007*](https://web.archive.org/web/20150626140254/http://www.bsbi.org.uk/BSBIList2007.xls) (xls). [Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland](/source/Botanical_Society_of_Britain_and_Ireland). Archived from [the original](https://bsbi.org/download/3542/) (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["*Dryas octopetala*"](https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=14708). *[Germplasm Resources Information Network](/source/Germplasm_Resources_Information_Network)*. [Agricultural Research Service](/source/Agricultural_Research_Service), [United States Department of Agriculture](/source/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-RHSLG_4-0)** Harrison, Lorraine (2012). *RHS Latin for gardeners*. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. p. 224. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781845337315](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781845337315).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Plants of Canada Database - Dryas octopetala"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160307180350/http://www.plantsofcanada.info.gc.ca/taxa.php?lang=e&gid=1001748). Government of Canada. Archived from [the original](http://www.plantsofcanada.info.gc.ca/taxa.php?lang=e&gid=1001748) on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["*Dryas octopetala*"](https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/6152/Dryas-octopetala/Details). Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 16 February 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["AGM Plants - Ornamental"](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals.pdf) (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 33. Retrieved 6 February 2018.

## Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Dryas octopetala](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Dryas_octopetala).

- Elkington, T. T. (1971). "*Dryas Octopetala* L.". *Journal of Ecology*. **59** (3): 887–905. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[1971JEcol..59..887E](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1971JEcol..59..887E). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/2258146](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2258146). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [2258146](https://www.jstor.org/stable/2258146).

- Fisher, P. J.; et al. (1995). "Fungal Endophytes of *Dryas octopetala* from a High Arctic Polar Semidesert and from the Swiss Alps". *Mycologia*. **87** (3): 319–323. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/3760828](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F3760828). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [3760828](https://www.jstor.org/stable/3760828).

- Skrede, Inger; et al. (2006). "Refugia, differentiation and postglacial migration in arctic-alpine Eurasia, exemplified by the mountain avens (*Dryas octopetala* L.)". *Molecular Ecology*. **15** (7): 1827–1840. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2006MolEc..15.1827S](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2006MolEc..15.1827S). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1111/j.1365-294X.2006.02908.x](https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1365-294X.2006.02908.x). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [16689901](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16689901). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [44667191](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:44667191).

- ["Dryas octopetala"](https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Dryas+octopetala). *[Plants for a Future](/source/Plants_for_a_Future)*.

- [*Dryas octopetala*](https://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-taxon=Dryas+octopetala) in the [CalPhotos](/source/CalPhotos) photo database, [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California%2C_Berkeley)

v t e Floral emblems of Canada Provinces Wild rose (AB) Pacific dogwood (BC) Prairie crocus (MB) Purple violet (NB) Purple pitcher plant (NL) Mayflower (NS) White trillium (ON) Pink lady's slipper (PE) Blue flag iris (QC) Western red lily (SK) Territories Mountain avens (NT) Purple saxifrage (NU) Fireweed (YK)

Taxon identifiers Dryas octopetala Wikidata: Q161621 Wikispecies: Dryas octopetala BOLD: 257029 CoL: 37TXV EoL: 229668 EPPO: DYAOC EUNIS: 181232 FNA: 200010820 GBIF: 4889932 GRIN: 14708 iNaturalist: 83541 IPNI: 724675-1 ITIS: 24619 NatureServe: 2.155378 NBN: NBNSYS0000003365 NCBI: 57948 Observation.org: 136304 Open Tree of Life: 176708 PalDat: Dryas_octopetala Panarctic Flora: 640801 Plant List: rjp-26 PLANTS: DROC POWO: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:724675-1 RHS: 6152 Tropicos: 27800054 VASCAN: 8739 WFO: wfo-0000996365

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dryas octopetala](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryas_octopetala) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dryas_octopetala?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.