Micranthes apetala |
Micranthes micranthidifolia |
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tiny swamp saxifrage, western swamp saxifrage |
branch-lettuce, lettuceleaf saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clusters, with bulbils on caudices, or short-rhizomatous. | Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. |
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 ± indistinct, (broad), flattened, 3–15 cm; blade lanceolate to oblanceolate, 4–35 cm, thin, base attenuate, margins irregularly serrate to dentate, ciliate, surfaces sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | 10–25-flowered, congested, glomerate thyrses, 4–15 cm, pink- to purple-tipped stipitate-glandular (hairs uniseriate). |
(30–)50+–flowered, very open, lax thyrses, 30–75 cm, pink- to purplish-tipped stipitate-glandular; (bracts gradually smaller distally). |
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 strongly reflexed, oblong; petals white, with 2 basal yellow spots that sometimes appear as 1 (sometimes faded in dried material), ± elliptic to spatulate, clawed, 2–3 mm, longer than sepals; filaments strongly club-shaped; pistils distinct almost to base; ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium). |
Capsules | reddish or purplish, folliclelike. |
green, sometimes purplish, folliclelike. |
2n | = 38. |
= 22. |
Micranthes apetala |
Micranthes micranthidifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering early spring–summer. | Flowering spring. |
Habitat | Vernally moist meadows, wet depressions on mountain slopes | Rocky seepage slopes, stream banks |
Elevation | 600-2800 m (2000-9200 ft) | 400-2100 m (1300-6900 ft) |
Distribution |
ID; MT; OR; WA
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GA; KY; MD; NC; PA; SC; VA; WV
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Discussion | Micranthes micranthidifolia was formerly gathered by local people in the southern Appalachians as a spring “green” (hence the common name, “branch” being dialect for a small stream); it is still occasionally seen in local grocery stores. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. | FNA vol. 8, p. 60. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga apetala, Saxifraga integrifolia var. apetala | Robertsonia micranthidifolia, Aulaxis micranthidifolia, Saxifraga micranthidifolia |
Name authority | (Piper) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 135. 1905 , | (Haworth) Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 501, 1331. 1903 , |
Web links |
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