Shrubs compact, 0.05-0.1(-0.3) m; twig nodes to 1 cm apart. Leaf blades ovate or oval to broadly elliptic, 1.5(-2.5) cm, to 2.5 times as long as wide. Flowers: calyx pink to light green, 5-7 mm diam.; corolla rose-purple, 8-12(-15) mm diam.

Flowering Apr-Jun. Open bogs, alpine meadows; 900-3500 m; Alta., B.C., Man., N.W.T., Ont., Sask., Yukon; Alaska, Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., Oreg., Utah, Wash., Wyo.