Subalpine, alpine. Meadows. Summer.
Lizard Head Trail, July 3, 2004.Alpine Avens is often found in huge colonies, especially near tree line and on tundra.  Its finely cut shiny leaves, maroon buds (at two and seven o'clock and center), and very bright shiny yellow flowers make it a handsome and noticeable plant.  Its leaves are often four-to-eight inches long below tree-line but are barely an inch or two long on Alpine Tundra.  Because of its shiny yellow flower petals, Acomastylis rossii is often mistaken for a Buttercup. 

"A coma" is Latin for "without hair".  The specific epithet is for the Arctic explorer, Captain James Ross, who collected the first specimen of this plant for science in 1820 in the Northwest Territories of Canada.  The Geum genus name was given by Linnaeus in 1753, and the species was named Sieversia rossii in 1823, Geum rossii in 1825, and then Acomastylis rossii in 1906.  (More biographical information.)

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows. Summer.
Madden Peak, June 23, 2004.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows. Summer.
Shoulder of Helmet Peak, August 18, 2005.

Subalpine, alpine. Meadows. Summer.
Shoulder of Helmet Peak, August 18, 2005.

Acomastylis rossii leaves turn a warm, shiny maroon in the fall often blanketing many acres of cool woods and tundra with a deep glow.

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color KeySpecies present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Geum rossii