Androsace
genus of plants
Androsace, commonly known as rock jasmine, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Primulaceae, second only to Primula in the number of species. It is predominantly Arctic–alpine, with many species in the Himalayas (where the genus originated), the mountains of central Asia, the Caucasus, and the southern and central European mountain systems, particularly the Alps and the Pyrenees.
Plants of this genus are sometimes known as rock jasmines or fairy candelabras, and are widely cultivated for their dense cushions covered in white or pink flowers. There are roughly 110 species.
These plants have small entire or toothed leaves which form a basal rosette.
Taxonomy
Recent molecular studies show that the genera Douglasia (found in north-western North America and easternmost Siberia), Pomatosace (an Himalayan endemic) and Vitaliana (a European endemic) are nested within Androsace. Phylogenetic studies have also demonstrated that the ancestor of Androsace first appeared about 35 Mya ago and was most probably an annual species. Evolution towards the denser morphology of cushions took place two times independently in Asia and in Europe.
Species
As of May 2022, Plants of the World Online recognizes the following 166 species, including those formerly placed in Douglasia and Vitaliana.
Androsace adenocephala Hand.-Mazz.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Androsace” as genus of plants. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as genus of plants. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q157361. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2022.
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This entry incorporates text from “Androsace” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.