Dwarf alpine yarrow

Achillea nana, the dwarf alpine yarrow, is a small, mat-forming perennial herb in the family Asteraceae native to the high mountains of central and southern Europe, where it occupies stony slopes, scree, moraine, and short turf in the alpine and nival zones, typically above 2000 m elevation. Plants grow only 5-15 cm tall, with creeping rhizomes giving rise to dense tufts of densely silver-tomentose, narrowly oblong, finely pinnately-divided leaves whose ultimate segments are short and crowded. From midsummer the short flowering stems carry compact, flat-topped corymbs of small, dingy-white to cream flower heads with five or six short, broad ray florets surrounding a dense disc. The whole plant is intensely aromatic when bruised, with a pungent, slightly camphoraceous scent characteristic of the genus. It is well-adapted to extreme cold, drought, and high ultraviolet exposure.