Four petal nivalis

[Phill]

Is this a frequent variation?

[RichardW]

Yes I find them occasionally, but they are quite unstable & often revert to three petals.

[ChrisD]

Yes I find them occasionally, but they are quite unstable & often revert to three petals.

Yes, I often see a few of them the year after I transplant and split them. So far they have all reverted back the following year, although I believe there is at least one stable 4 petalled G. nivalis.

Chris

[Alan_b]

If you found this by itself then it is most likely to be a one-off.  If there is a clump and they all have 4 outers and 4 inners then it is likely to be stable.

[Carolyn Walker]

I found a little clump of four petal G. nivalis and moved it to a new location for observation.  The next year it was three petal, but then last year it went back to four petal.  We will see what happens this spring if spring ever arrives, -10 F is predicted for tomorrow night, 10 degrees below our zone 7A low of 0 F.