Luetkea Pectinata, Partridgefoot

Day 290: Partridgefoot (Luetkea pectinata) is commonly found in the alpine/subalpine zones of Mount Rainier National Park. It stands roughly six inches high when in bloom, the flowering stalks rising above a basal rosette of foliage. Both the basal and cauline leaves (those appearing on the stems) are divided into three linear leaflets, in shape rather like a bird's foot (hence the common name). The tough, woody (ligneous) stems remove Partridgefoot from the category of herbaceous plants, but it is too short to be called a shrub. Instead, botanists call it a semi-shrub or subshrub based on this characteristic. The plant often forms dense mats, connected beneath the soil by rhizomes or sending out runners (stolons) along the surface. It is evergreen, and the tufted basal rosettes may be seen in the early season as the snow begins its retreat from the meadows.

Luetkea Pectinata, Partridgefoot

Day 298: It's just one of those "little white flowers" you see all over the subalpine meadows in the Park, but Partridgefoot (Luetkea pectinata) is enchantingly lovely. Its common name comes from the shape of its leaves which resemble bird tracks left in snow or sand. The second half of its Latin binomial also refers to the leaf: "pectinate" means "having comb-like teeth." Interestingly enough, Luetkea is not classified as an herb, due to the woody nature of its rootstalk, nor can it be called a shrub because of its diminutive size. It therefore falls into the category of "subshrubs," plants whose woody stems and roots overwinter without entirely dying back. Many groundcovers qualify as subshrubs, and indeed little Partridgefoot often forms dense mats of foliage soon after the snow melts.