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Wright's golden carpet, Wright's golden-saxifrage

Pacific golden-saxifrage, Pacific water-carpet

Flowering stems

erect, branching in distal 1/10–1/4(–1/3), (1.5–)2–11(–16) cm, sparsely to densely villous especially proximally, hairs reddish brown.

ascending to erect, branching in distal 1/4–1/2, 8–27 cm, glabrous.

Leaves

alternate, fleshy.

usually opposite, sometimes alternate distally, membranous.

Cauline leaves

absent or 1(–2);

petiole 3–16(–24) mm, glabrous or sparsely villous, hairs reddish brown;

blade ovate to broadly ovate, reniform, or flabellate, 3.5–12 × 4.5–19 mm, base cuneate, margins 3–7-crenate, usually glabrous, sometimes villous, hairs white, surfaces glabrous.

2–9;

petiole 0.2–10 mm, glabrous;

blade ovate to depressed-ovate or flabellate, 5–17(–20) × (3–)6–16 mm, base truncate to cuneate, margins 9–17(–21)-crenate or -crenate-dentate, glabrous, surfaces glabrous abaxially and adaxially.

Inflorescences

terminal, 3–30-flowered, compact cymes;

bracts green or greenish yellow, usually purple-spotted, foliaceous, usually ovate to flabellate or, rarely, elliptic, 3–13 × 2–15 mm, margins subentire or 3–7-crenate.

terminal or axillary solitary flowers or 3–20-flowered, open cymes;

bracts green, not purple-spotted, foliaceous, ovate to flabellate, 2–9 × 2–8 mm, margins 5–9-crenate.

Pedicels

absent or 0.1–1.5 mm.

absent or 0.1–1.8(–3) mm.

Flowers

hypanthium green or greenish yellow, sometimes purple-spotted distally, turbinate, 1.2–2.2 × 1.8–3.5 mm, glabrous;

sepals spreading, greenish yellow, purple, or reddish orange, usually purple-spotted throughout or distally, rarely not spotted, broadly ovate to depressed-ovate or nearly round, 0.9–2.3 × 1.2–3.1 mm, apex obtuse to rounded;

nectary disc prominent, yellow or purple, 8-lobed;

stamens 8, 0.7–0.9 mm;

anthers yellow or purple, 0.2–0.3 × 0.2–0.3 mm;

styles 0.5–0.9 mm.

hypanthium green, not purple-spotted, turbinate, 0.8–1.8 × 1.5–3 mm, glabrous;

sepals spreading to erect, green, not purple-spotted, sometimes reddish brown-spotted distally, broadly ovate, 1–1.5 × 1.1–1.8 mm, apex obtuse to rounded;

nectary disc conspicuous, green or purple, 8-lobed;

stamens 8, 0.4–0.8 mm;

anthers yellow, 0.1–0.3 × 0.2–0.4 mm;

styles 0.3–0.4 mm.

Seeds

(2–)5–12, reddish brown, ovoid to ellipsoid, (0.8–)1–1.3 mm, glabrous.

10–20, dark brown, ovoid to ellipsoid, 0.7–1 mm, glabrous.

Stolon(s)

leaves: petiole (7–)25–55(–68) mm, sparsely to densely villous, hairs reddish brown;

blade depressed-ovate to reniform, 4–19 × 7–24 mm, base cordate or truncate, margins 5–9-crenate, usually purple-spotted, usually ciliate, hairs white, surfaces glabrous or sparsely villous, especially near petiole, hairs usually white, brown, or reddish brown, sometimes purple.

leaves: petiole 3–10 mm, glabrous;

blade ovate to depressed-ovate or flabellate, 5–17(–20) × (3–)6–16 mm, base truncate to cuneate, margins 9–17(–21)-crenate or -crenate-dentate, not purple-spotted, glabrous, surfaces glabrous abaxially and adaxially.

2n

= 24.

= 18.

Chrysosplenium wrightii

Chrysosplenium glechomifolium

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat Gravelly tundra and stream banks, boulder fields, scree slopes, solifluction terraces, seeps Marshy ground, seeps, springs, bogs, streamsides
Elevation 0-2300 m (0-7500 ft) 0-900 m (0-3000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; BC; YT; e Asia (Russia: Kamtchatka, e Siberia)
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

H. Hara (1957) recognized two varieties of Chrysosplenium wrightii. He considered var. wrightii to be restricted to Herald Island, the type locality, and var. beringianum (Rose) H. Hara to be the element in southern Alaska, St. Matthew Island and the Pribiloff Islands, and across the Aleutian Islands to Kamtchatka. He distinguished the varieties by the indumentum of the flowering stems and thickness of the leaf blades. These characters vary too widely among populations to warrant recognition of infraspecific taxa.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 75. FNA vol. 8, p. 72.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Chrysosplenium Saxifragaceae > Chrysosplenium
Sibling taxa
C. americanum, C. glechomifolium, C. iowense, C. rosendahlii, C. tetrandrum
C. americanum, C. iowense, C. rosendahlii, C. tetrandrum, C. wrightii
Synonyms C. alternifolium var. wrightii C. oppositifolium var. scouleri, C. scouleri
Name authority Franchet & Savatier: Enum. Pl. Jap. 2: 356. 1878 , Nuttall: in J. Torrey and A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 589. 1840 (as glechomaefolium) ,
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