Draba Norvegica

Norwegian whitlow-grass is a small but remarkably hardy plant of Arctic and subarctic mountains. Compact rosettes of hairy green leaves hug the ground, sending up short stems of white, four-petalled flowers as snow retreats. It occupies gravel, rock ledges, fellfield and open tundra across a vast northern range, surviving intense frost, wind and a very brief growing season. The restrained scale and neat floral heads make it a rewarding specialist alpine, best grown in a cool trough or scree where the roots remain moist during growth but the crown is never waterlogged.