About Hudsonia tomentosa Nutt.
Hudsonia tomentosa Nutt. is a small shrub that reaches roughly 8 inches in height. Its leaves are tiny and scale-shaped, and covered in a layer of woolly hairs. The plant produces yellow flowers with five petals that are approximately a quarter inch wide, and flowering occurs between May and July. This shrub grows in sandy habitats including pine barrens and dunes. While it can occur as a coastal species, it is less tolerant of sea spray than other coastal plants, so it is typically found on dry backdunes rather than along the water's edge. In Alberta specifically, the species is associated with green sands that have been colonized by nitrogen-fixing blue-green algae. These algae may provide nutrients to the shrub, enabling it to grow in nutrient-poor sandy soils. Hudsonia tomentosa requires periodic disturbance, but it is also very sensitive to human impacts like trampling. Though it has strict, narrow habitat requirements, it can grow in large numbers locally.
