[1][2] It produces panicles of 5–10 white flowers on a stem up to 20 cm (7.9 in) tall, rising from a basal leaf rosette.

Micranthes stellaris grows as a leaf rosette, which produces a generally leafless stem up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) tall.

[2] It is found from Baffin Island, Labrador and Greenland to Arctic Russia, including Iceland, Scandinavia and the British Isles.

[4][5] Further south, it is found from the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain to the eastern Carpathians,[7][8] including lower ranges such as the Massif Central.

Within the British Isles, M. stellaris is abundant in North Wales, Northern England and Scotland, reaching the summit of Ben Nevis (1,344 m or 4,409 ft), but is only found locally in Ireland.

[3][4][12] Its southernmost stations in Great Britain are the slopes of Plynlimon and the Rheidol valley; it does not occur in the mountains of South Wales.