Potentilla nitida? ID needed.

[maggiepie]

Thanks for the link Trond, am pretty sure this is what my little plants are.
At least they look the same to me.

[Lori S.]

I have no idea what these potentillas are, but just thought I'd mention that P. hyparctica is one of the alpine potentillas that occurs here, and Flora of Alberta says the inflorescence may be one- or two-flowered.
Let alone suggest what the potentillas in question may be, I remain baffled as to how the various alpine potentillas that occur here are distinguished, and so I bought one at the local rock garden society plant sale last year, and grew another from seed, hoping to discern the differences as described in Flora of Alberta...
So, assuming whoever grew them or collected the seed actually knows the differences, the following species may be a couple more possibilities to consider for the potentillas in question here!    Or maybe for Helen's anyway, as these two don't form leafy stems.

P. nivea (a tighter plant but how much of that might be conditions?):
 

P. uniflora:
 

[maggiepie]

Lori, thanks for the pics.
I have now decided to call my plants 'the little yellow potentillas' 

[Maggi Young]

I've had a chance to research Potentilla pulvinaris as suggested several pagers ago by Alan G .... seems not to be a fully recognised name,  despite having been around since 1842   
In the meantime, was looking at the plant with Roma today and Ian breezed off to check his photos with name labels and declared that the plant had come from Gerd Stopp as P. pulvinaris.