[5][6] As the flower faces the sun it provides a resting spot for a variety of insects, being slightly warmer than surrounding surfaces.

[9] This plant is common in many Arctic regions, growing in several types of cold, wet habitat.

It dominates a dwarf heath plant community along with sedges such as Carex rupestris in Montana.

[11] In parts of northern Alaska it codominates bare, cryoturbated soils with the lichen Ochrolechia frigida,[12] and moist coastal flats with Carex aquatilis, a sedge.

[13] The plant's ability to colonize denuded Arctic landscapes makes it a useful tool in revegetation efforts, particularly in habitat altered by mining.

Increasing the organic cover in a barren mining zone is considered an important goal in revegetation efforts.