About Oreocarya humilis (A.Gray) Greene
Oreocarya humilis has small, densely leafy stems that create a cushion-like appearance, and it grows relatively low, a trait that gives it its common name. Its leaves are hairy and spoon-shaped. Its inflorescences bear five-lobed white flowers that have a yellow ring inside the upper throat; these flowers are less than 1⁄2 inch (1.3 cm) wide. The ovate nutlet fruits of this species are more wrinkled than the nutlets of Oreocarya nubigena.
This species is native to the western United States, occurring in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah. Within the Sierra Nevada range, it grows in dry, gravely soils of the sagebrush scrub community, subalpine forest, and the alpine zone, at elevations up to 11,900 feet (3,600 m).
