Micranthes apetala |
Micranthes fragosa |
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tiny swamp saxifrage, western swamp saxifrage |
brittle-leaf saxifrage, Clayton's saxifrage, peak saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clusters, with bulbils on caudices, or short-rhizomatous. | Plants often mat-forming, long, thin-rhizomatous. |
Leaves | basal; petiole flattened, 0.5–3 cm; blade ± ovate, 2–5 cm, ± fleshy, base attenuate, margins entire or crenulate, eciliate, surfaces hairy. |
basal; petiole flattened, 4–10 cm; blade broadly ovate to deltate, 4–8(–10) cm, fleshy, base attenuate, margins entire or minutely denticulate, ciliate, surfaces glabrate to sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | 10–25-flowered, congested, glomerate thyrses, 4–15 cm, pink- to purple-tipped stipitate-glandular (hairs uniseriate). |
30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes almost secund), open, lax, conic thyrses with ± open cymules on lateral branches, 20–50 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals erect to ascending, ovate; petals absent, sometimes 1–5, white to greenish white, not spotted, linear to oblong, clawed, 1–2 mm, much shorter than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior. |
sepals spreading to slightly reflexed, ovate to deltate; petals white, not spotted, obovate, clawed, 2–3 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior, appearing more superior in fruit. |
Capsules | reddish or purplish, folliclelike. |
green or reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 38. |
= 20, 38. |
Micranthes apetala |
Micranthes fragosa |
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Phenology | Flowering early spring–summer. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Vernally moist meadows, wet depressions on mountain slopes | Wet, mossy cliffs, unstable slopes, often near watercourses |
Elevation | 600-2800 m (2000-9200 ft) | 100-2600 m (300-8500 ft) |
Distribution |
ID; MT; OR; WA
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ID; OR; WA
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Discussion | Micranthes fragosa is restored to specific status here because a review of its differences with M. nidifica shows it to be more distinctive than previously thought, and for consistency in the application of criteria for species recognition within the rest of the genus. In the southernmost part of its range, M. fragosa converges in appearance with M. californica. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga apetala, Saxifraga integrifolia var. apetala | Saxifraga fragosa, Saxifraga claytoniifolia, Saxifraga fragosa subsp. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga integrifolia var. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga nidifica var. claytoniifolia |
Name authority | (Piper) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 135. 1905 , | (Suksdorf ex Small) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 137. (1905) |
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