A low, sometimes procumbent shrub usually only a few inches high, of stunted habit; young shoots downy. Leaves variable in outline, sometimes roundish, sometimes narrowly oval, 3⁄4 to 2 in. long, more or less tapered at the base, mostly finely toothed; glabrous, or with down along the midrib and veins; veins parallel in from five to eight pairs; stalk downy, 1⁄8 to 1⁄3 in. long. Flowers pale green, the parts in fours. Fruits globose, blue-black.
Native of the mountains of Central and S. Europe, mainly on limestone; in cultivation 1752. It inhabits crevices of rocks, and is of the curious gnarled type common in such places. It has some beauty in fruit, and is best adapted for the rock garden, where it makes a neat and pleasing tuft, although less close and compact than in the wild.
