I wonder how much soil is under that rock? I’m guessing, not much. And I’m not showing it in this photo, but there was snow clinging to the rocks just southeast of where I was standing. In July. This common willowherb (Epilobium ciliatum), a close relative of the (ahem!) even more common fireweed (Chamerion angustifolium*, also known as rosebay willowherb), is a mountain plant with heaps of beauty AND brawn.
*In another case of Nomenclature Gone Wild, fireweed was previously known as Epilobium angustifolium. I can’t yet find an explanation as to why the genus name was changed for this plant and not for common willowherb…but I’ll keep digging.
Flowery Prose 
Woooooooooow Magnificent
They definitely caught my eye!
Wow. I’d say!
It always astonishes me to see how these alpine plants flourish in such adverse conditions….
Isn’t nature amazing! How do you know the names of everything? Impressive.
I wish I could claim I didn’t have help…but when I get stuck on an ID or the spelling of something, I go to the books. 🙂 There are a few excellent books about wildflowers in Alberta that have been my go-to’s for years, and I just ordered another one that I found a copy of at the library and loved.
Beautiful!
Jean
The colour really stood out!
Sweet as well as tenacious.
I agree!
I don’t know how plants do that. I was recently trying to dig up a volunteer to transplant and realized it was growing from a rock.
It is absolutely amazing that they can root out of that!
A stunner!
I was so pleased to come across them!
What a terrific photo, Sheryl. I love the unexpected and also the tenacity of certain plants.