(Gorman's dwarf-primrose)
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Photo of Douglasia gormanii by Adolph Murie
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Douglasia gormanii is a tiny tufted alpine plant, forming cushions in scree slopes,
fellfields and gravelly tundra.
Douglasia gormanii has disproportionately large pink to magenta flowers. Plants grow only a few centimeters high from a branched caudex, often nestled among slide rock. Leaves are
oblanceolate to
linear, only 1-10 mm long, layered in small imbricate rosettes. Leaves are covered on both sides with long hairs, with branched hairs on the margins (distinguishing it from arctic
D. ochotensis, which has
simple hairs). The base of the rosettes can have many persistent dead leaves, and stems reach a height of 2-5 cm. The flowers are held on
pedicels just above the vegetative cushion, sometimes appearing sessile. The bright pink, five-petalled flowers often dominate the diminutive plant. Beneath the petals, the
calyx is fused, cup shaped, with five triangular lobes.
Pedicels elongate when fruits develop, up to 3.5 cm. Fruits are a rounded dry
capsule, containing 1-4 seeds. Other cushion-forming alpine plants with pink flowers include alpine azalea (
Loiseleuria procumbens), whose flowers are star-shaped and leaves with
revolute margins;
Silene acaulis, which does not have leaves in tight rosettes; and
Saxifraga oppositifolia, whose petals are separate at the base and the flowers have two fused
carpels, as opposed to
Douglasia's one.
Douglasia gormanii is one of the first alpine plants to flower, blooming in early to mid-May. It is perennial with semi-evergreen leaves.
This species is
monoecious with bisexual flowers. The genus
Douglasia is insect-pollinated. This species' fruit is a valved
capsule, few seeded. Reproductive biology of this species has not been studied.
Douglasia gormanii is endemic to central Alaska and adjacent Yukon and British Columbia. In Alaska, the species is found in interior mountains and the northern slopes of the Alaska Range and Wrangell Mts. In Denali, this small alpine primrose occurs in the northeastern quadrant of the park, with populations spread along the mountains flanking Park Road corridor and outlying foothill ranges.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
This is an alpine species, found at an average elevation of 1164 m in the Park. It prefers steep slopes, with sites having an average incline of 22 degrees. This species shows no preference for aspect, growing on south and north-facing slopes.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
D. gormanii is found on rocky ridges and slopes in the alpine, typically in dry sites.
Moist to dry sites in the mountains.
Considered rare in Denali National Park and Preserve.