Yellow Mountain Heather (Phyllodoce glanduliflora)

Horseshoe Basin, Pasayten Wilderness, WA, 7/2016.

We’ve only encountered this heather variety a handful of times; the most recent was a single sighting on a trip in the Pasayten Wilderness. Glanduliflora shares its rosemary-like, evergreen needles, and its genus with the much more common pink Empetriformis. The two varieties have been known to hybridize. Of the three varieties, Yellow Mountain Heather is generally found at the highest elevations, followed a bit lower by white, and then pink at timberline. All three have a short growing season, and are often found on the north sides of mountains, where the snow lingers.