Dwarf shrub of the Ericaceae family, Cassiope selaginoides is native to the mountains of Central and Eastern Asia, mainly from southwestern China — Yunnan, Sichuan — as well as Tibet and northern Myanmar, where it colonizes alpine heaths, moist rocks, and grassy slopes at altitude, generally between 3,000 and 4,500 meters.
It forms spreading clumps with branched and slightly upright stems, reaching 15 to 25 cm in height. Its most unique feature lies in the arrangement of its leaves: small, spirally arranged and applied in regular rows along the stems, they give them a braided and corded appearance, indeed reminiscent of certain selaginellas. In winter, the foliage takes on brown to reddish-brown, sometimes purplish hues, giving it a particularly ornamental off-season appearance, clearly visible in the photograph.
The flowers are fine, pure white bells, borne on slender reddish peduncles, with a calyx of very distinct bright red sepals that elegantly highlight the white corolla. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to July depending on the altitude. In cultivation, it generally occurs between March and May.
Unlike some of its Himalayan counterparts, it is relatively accommodating in cultivation, provided it is offered an acidic, peaty, cool, and well-drained soil, without lime, in a cool or slightly shaded exposure.