| General Description | A mat-forming, deciduous, dwarf shrub with dark green, glossy leaves. Its flowers are incomplete (lacking sepals and petals) and stand erect as spikes that are dark-reddish brown in colour. |
| ID Characteristic | Its catkins are a dark reddish-brown colour with capsules that are pubescent which spike in an upwards fashion. The leaves are glabrous, dark green, entire and alternately arranged. Possesses similar characteristics to S. reticulata and S. herbacea but can be distinguished by the leaf formation and fruit. S. reticulata having larger leaves and a white tint on the undersides while S. herbacea has leaves which are crenate or dentate and flowers that are not as long or dark. |
| Shape | Small, low growing, mat-like and erect shrub. |
| Landscape | Not commonly used in landscapes given that it is a wild species, but arctic animals are severely dependant on this ground covering to supply them with nutrients during harsh winters (i.e.– reindeer). |
| Propagation | Given that it has modified subterranean plant stems known as rhizomes it can be cloned, although it has not been recorded to date. This shrub can otherwise be propagated through its seeds just before the northern hemisphere approaches colder weather in late July. |
| Cultivation | This creeping shrub has extensively branching rhizomes and can adapt to coarsely and medium textured terrain. It can withstand pH levels as high as 8.5 to as low as 5.5 and performs well in moist soil with full to partial sun. |
| Pests | No notable pests or diseases. |
| Notable Specimens | Notably found in British Columbia’s alpine slopes . |
| Habitat | Located in a variety terrain such as mossy tundra, glacial tills, snowy slopes in alpine zones, snow covered regions that provide protection and moderately exposed areas. |
| Bark/Stem Description | Branches red brown but slightly grey while branchlets are glabrous and brownish. Corky outer layers of bark are formed on second to third year growth and unlike the rest of its genus it does not form the characteristic multiple epidermis. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | Buds are very small and glabrous and have a single scale. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves are attached at the base of the stalk with an alternate arrangement. They are entire, nearly circular and sometimes have small fine hairs but are mainly glabrous. The young leaves are a pale yellow while older leaves are dark green and glossy with pinnate venation. They die annually. |
| Flower Description | Rodlike, compact catkins that are reddish brown in colour and dense in formation. Its capsules are pubescent, and it does not possess a perianth. It flowers in early spring at the same time when leaves emerge. The flowers are unisexual with female flowers growing 10-15 mm long and 7-10 mm wide. Male flowers can grow 9-34 mm long and 6-12 mm wide |
| Fruit Description | Fruits are contained within slightly pubescent capsules that burst open to be mainly pollenated by wind travel. Once burst they are surrounded by a cotton like fibre from the ovaries. The colour of these catkins can range from red to dark purple. The gynoecium is fused in the female flower. Capsules possess many little seeds for dispersion. |
| Colour Description | It does not have any autumn colour. The colour of young leaves is yellow and mature into a deep green. The spring flower is a mix of red and brown with the bark almost mimicking its shade but having a glaucous tinge. |
| Texture Description | Medium. |