Tofieldia leaves give away that it is a monocot: they are linear, with parallel veination. Their form is described as an 'appressed fan', which as far as I can tell means they are in one plane:
Like many monocots, Tofieldia's leaves are produced by a basal meristem (they are produced from cells at the center, just above the ground, and pushed up), and they appear to be produced continuously throughout the growthseason. However, it is unclear whether they overwinter or not. I can't find any information on this, but I have noticed that early-season leaves look like they have been around for a while, as you can see in this picture (taken on the 10th of June 2013, shortly after most plants started to produce leaves):
The leaves have fairly low nitrogen content (1.7%, putting it in the bottom third of the 40 plants in that community I have looked at) and they are also quite thick. Despite this, snow geese (Chen caerulescens) seem to think they are quite tasty, as indicated by the damage they do to the leaves:
Photos: D. Iles
This plant grows under high light conditions where the "canopy" of dwarf birch and willow is thin or absent, and it is not usually moisture limited since it is found in tundra underlain by permafrost. The leaf morphology supports this: the leaves are thick and light green, and there is no way for the plant to elevate the leaves.
