Diapensia lapponica (Diapensia)

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Diapensia lapponica L.

Diapensia, pincushion plant

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Asteridae	A large class that encompasses asters
Order	Diapensiales	A small group that includes oconee bells and a few others
Family	Diapensiaceae	A small group that includes oconee bells and a few others
Genus	Diapensia	From Wikipedia: “sources disagree on how Linnaeus derived [this name]. Gray states that the term was derived from the Greek name of the sanicle, a very different looking flower, and opined that the term was “of obscure meaning [and] strangely applied . . . to this boreal plant.” Webster’s [states] the term is “New Latin, perhaps irregular from Greek dia pente, “by fives,” and New Latin -ia; from the five-leaved calyx,” a description that would apply to thousands of flowering plants. The Encyclopaedia Londinensis of John Wilkes suggested that the term is from Greek,”deeply grieving or mourning; probably from its situation”
Species	lapponica	From Lapland

About plant names...

Diapensia is circumboreal—at home in cold subarctic regions and high mountain elevations. It favors rocky ridge scoured clean of snow by high winds.

Plants: Diapensia forms low-growing mats ⅜-1¾" (1-5 cm) high. (Technically this dimunutive plant is an evergreen shrub.) Its pincusion-like shape traps heat, and its low profile helps to protect it from the wind, and it has adaptations protecting it from winter’s cold. It is very slow-growing, but very long-lived, often living one or even two centuries. It has survived immersion in liquid nitrogen.

Leaves: Leathery, oval, entire (smooth-edged), whorled, up to ⅛-½" (5-15 mm) × ¹/₃₂-⅛" (0.5-3 mm). They are yellowish green to green, or dark red in winter.

Flowers: Small, solitary white flowers, sometimes pink, appear atop stems up to 1" (3 cm) high. Each flower has five petals. Some species have two blooming periods—early June and August, on different plants.

Fruits: Capsules are ovoid, brown or red, ¹/₁₆-⅛" (2-3 mm) × ¹/₃₂-¹/₁₆" (1-2 mm). Capsules persist through the winter, releasing seeds in early spring.

Online References:

Wikipedia

Gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

Hikingforwildness.com

Nature.ca

References:

Newcomb, Lawrence, Morrison, Gordon (Illus.), Newcomb’s Wildflower Guide, Little, Brown and Company, 1977, 176