Stenotus acaulis

You'd probably want to make it a very substantial and raised sand bed, with all the rain in your climate, Trond!  :o

Looks like a terrific rock garden plant.  Your first photo, which I assume is an example of the wide-petalled form, is especially spectacular. 

I had to look up the genus Stenotus, having not even heard of it before.  Wow, the former "Haplopappus" species have sure been scattered to the winds.

John - those are really great pictures to go with your Erigeron bloomeri. The prospect of a much bigger sand bed looms more and more! I may have to redesign parts of the garden. I still toy with the idea of a year round covered bed for some of these plants, because our summers can be so variable, but maybe a sand bed on a sufficient scale would obviate the need for this.

Weiser wrote:

Stenotus acaulis (syn. Haplopappus acaulis)is a very nice dwarf aster from the Western states. It's range starts at the Eastern Sierra Nevada range traveling eastward across the Great Basin, Wasache and Uinta ranges. Then crossing the Middle Rockies and into the Wyoming Basin. Within this vast range there is a lot of variability and integration among regionally distinct populations.

This little mat forming desert and alpine daisy, forms condensed 2"(2cm) tall mats of upward pointing lance shaped leaves, that dry through the summer and become very prickly to the touch. The yellow spring flowers are held above the mats from 1"-4" (2.5-10cm). In the populations of the Eastern Great Basin you can see plants with wider full petals blooming along side plants with strap like petals. Both forms equally charming.
It is not uncommon to see wild mats with portions dead and the remainder flourishing. As the mats expand their new rosettes send down, their own sets of new wiry tap roots. This makes it fairly easy to separate new cuttings.

http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=7784
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=STAC
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220012965

Lovely, John! I think Alplains has this under some name or other..

Greetings,

Nice set of photos and great information.  I find this species growing abundantly in the Pryor mountains where it forms solid soccer ball sized cushions.  The really old specimens often have eroded bases revealing a stout twisted tap root. 

Brian