''Sibbaldia procumbens'' (or creeping sibbaldia) is a species of flowering plant of the genus ''
Sibbaldia'' in the
rose family.
It has an
Arctic–alpine distribution; it can be found throughout the
Arctic, as well as the at higher elevations in the mountains of Eurasia and North America. It grows on
tundra and in
alpine climates where snow remains year-round, and on
subalpine mountain slopes. This is a low, mat-forming perennial herb producing clumps of herbage in rocky, gravelly substrate. A spreading stem up to 15 centimeters long grows from a
caudex
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
. Each leaf is divided into usually three leaflets borne at the end of a
petiole up to 7 centimeters long. Each wedge-shaped leaflet has three teeth at the tip. The flower has usually five pointed green
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
lets, five wider pointed green
sepals, and five tiny yellowish petals each about a millimeter long. The fruits develop in the remnants of the sepals on erect stalks.
Distribution

The plant has an
Arctic–alpine distribution.
It is found in the
Pyrenees, in places in the
Cantabrians and
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
of Spain, in the
Alps, the
Vosges in France, on
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, in a few locations in the central
Apennines
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
, in the
Tatras on the border of Slovakia and Poland, in Bulgaria's
Rila
Rila ( bg, Рила, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Mus ...
and
Pirin. In northern Europe, it grows in Scotland, on the
Faroe Islands, Iceland,
Jan Mayen and
Svaalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norway, Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of continental Europe, mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The ...
, throughout the
Scandinavian Mountains
The Scandinavian Mountains or the Scandes is a mountain range that runs through the Scandinavian Peninsula. The western sides of the mountains drop precipitously into the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, forming the fjords of Norway, whereas to the ...
, in northern Finland, in the northern
Urals, and along the Arctic coastline of European Russia from the
Kola peninsula in the west to the
Gulf of Ob in the east.
The plant is also found in extensive areas in some of the Central Asian and South Siberian mountains, including
Tian Shan, the
Tarbagatay,
Altai
Altai or Altay may refer to:
Places
*Altai Mountains, in Central and East Asia, a region shared by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Russia
In China
* Altay Prefecture (阿勒泰地区), Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China
* Altay City (阿� ...
and
Sayan ranges, and the
Transbaikal highlands. There are occurrences in the mountains of western China (including in the provinces of
Shaanxi,
Sichuan and
Yunnan), in the
Changbai Mountains on the boundary with Korea, in the
Japanese Alps
The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan which bisect the main island of Honshu. The peaks that tower over central Honshu have long been the object of veneration and pilgrimage. These mountains had long been exploited by local people for raw m ...
, on the island of
Sakhalin and in isolated areas on the nearby Russian mainland. It is widely distributed in eastern
Kamchatka, in
Chukotka, on the
Aleut Islands, in parts of Alaska, and then across the constituent ranges of the
North American Cordillera
The North American Cordillera, sometimes also called the Western Cordillera of North America, the Western Cordillera or the Pacific Cordillera, is the North American portion of the American Cordillera, the mountain chain system (cordillera) alon ...
in western Canada and the United States, its continuous area reaching its southern limits in the
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a high and rugged mountain range in Southern California in the United States. Situated north and northeast of San Bernardino and spanning two California counties, the range tops out at at San Gorgonio Mountain � ...
in California, the
San Francisco Peaks
The San Francisco Peaks (Navajo: , es, Sierra de San Francisco, Hopi: ''Nuva'tukya'ovi'', Western Apache: ''Dził Tso'', Keres: ''Tsii Bina'', Southern Paiute: ''Nuvaxatuh'', Havasupai-Hualapai: ''Hvehasahpatch''/''Huassapatch''/''Wik'hanbaja'', ...
in Arizona and the
Sangre de Cristo Mountains
)
, country= United States
, subdivision1_type= States
, subdivision1=
, parent= Rocky Mountains
, geology=
, orogeny=
, area_mi2= 17193
, range_coordinates=
, length_mi= 242
, length_orientation= north-south
, width_mi= 120
, w ...
of New Mexico, with the species reappearing further south at high altitudes in the
Transvolcanic Belt
The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt ( es, Eje Volcánico Transversal), also known as the Transvolcanic Belt and locally as the (''Snowy Mountain Range''), is an active volcanic belt that covers central-southern Mexico. Several of its highest peaks ...
of central Mexico.
It is also found in the northeast of the continent: in the
White Mountains of New Hampshire, in the
Chic-Choc Mountains
The Chic-Choc Mountains, also spelled Shick Shocks, is a mountain range in the central region of the Gaspe Peninsula in Quebec, Canada. It is a part of the Notre Dame Mountains, which is a continuation of the Appalachian Mountains.
History
The ...
of the Gaspé region of Quebec, in the
Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland, and then more sporadically further north in Canada: along the coasts of northern
Quebec and
Labrador, in some areas around
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
and in the south of
Baffin Island
Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...
. Finally, the plant is also known from both the western and the eastern coastal areas of
Greenland.
[ ncluding ''Sibbaldia macrophylla'']
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery*
{{taxonbar , from=Q3281558
Potentilleae
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus