Micranthes bryophora |
Micranthes subapetala |
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bud saxifrage |
Yellowstone saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on caudices. | Plants solitary or in clumps, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | ± basal; petiole absent; blade linear to narrowly elliptic, 0.5–4 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins subentire, ciliate, surfaces hirsute. |
basal; petiole usually indistinct, flattened, ca. 2 cm; blade ovate or elliptic to oblanceolate, 3–15 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins entire or minutely denticulate, ciliate, surfaces hairy. |
Inflorescences | usually 2–3+-flowered, open, lax thyrses, sometimes solitary flowers, (flowers terminal, proximal usually replaced by bulbils, sometimes bulbils absent), 2–25 cm, stipitate-glandular. (Pedicels reflexed.) Flowers: sepals reflexed, elliptic; petals white, each with 2 basal yellow spots, triangular to broadly ovate, clawed, 3–5 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate 1/2+ their lengths; ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium). |
30+-flowered, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals reflexed, ovate; petals absent, sometimes 1–5, pink to purplish, not spotted, elliptic, clawed, 1–2 mm, shorter than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary inferior. |
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Capsules | green to yellow, purple tinged, valvate. |
dark purple, valvate. |
2n | = 76. |
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Micranthes bryophora |
Micranthes subapetala |
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Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Wet meadows, rocky ledges | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges |
Elevation | 1600-4500 m (5200-14800 ft) | 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; ID
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ID; MT; WY
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Discussion | Specimens of Micranthes bryophora from the disjunct populations in Idaho have been called Saxifraga bryophora var. tobiasiae; they appear to overlap in morphology with the California plants and are not distinguished here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Although the species is usually distinctive, some populations of Micranthes subapetala in northern Wyoming appear more similar to M. hieraciifolia than to typical M. subapetala and may need to be re-evaluated. The distributional disjunction between the two taxa is about 1600 kilometers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 58. | FNA vol. 8, p. 66. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga bryophora, Saxifraga bryophora var. tobiasiae | Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii |
Name authority | (A. Gray) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. (2007) | (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 , |
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