Micranthes californica
Micranthes lyallii
California saxifrage, Greene's saxifrage
Lyall's saxifrage, red-stem saxifrage
basal;
petiole flattened, 2–5 cm;
blade ovate, 2–7 cm, fleshy, base attenuate, margins serrate, rarely subentire, ciliate, surfaces hairy.
basal;
petiole rounded to flattened, 2–10 cm;
blade spatulate to obovate, 0.8–8 cm, thin, base cuneate to slightly attenuate, margins serrate to dentate, eciliate or sparsely glandular-ciliate, surfaces abaxially glabrous, adaxially sparsely brown-hairy.
20+-flowered, (flowers often secund), open, lax thyrses with distant lateral branches, 15–30(–40) cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular.
usually 10–15-flowered, lax, cylindric thyrses, (red), (4–)7–30 cm, sparsely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular.
sepals reflexed, sometimes spreading, triangular to ovate;
petals white, not spotted, elliptic to oblong, clawed, 2.5–4.5 mm, longer than sepals;
filaments linear, flattened;
pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths;
ovary 1/2+ inferior, appearing superior in fruit.
sepals reflexed, oblong to elliptic;
petals white, each with 2 basal yellowish green spots, elliptic to round, clawed, 2–5.5 mm, longer than sepals;
filaments club-shaped, (to 6 mm);
pistils connate 1/2+ their lengths;
ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium).
purplish, folliclelike.
green to yellow, distal 1/2 purple, ± folliclelike, (basally connate).
= ca. 56, 58.
Micranthes californica
Micranthes lyallii
Although they have nearly disjunct sets of populations, the subspecies of Micranthes lyallii are difficult to distinguish from each other. The more northern plants tend to be larger with wider leaves and often have been called Saxifraga lyallii subsp. or var. hultenii. Apparent hybrids with M. odontoloma occur in Alberta, British Columbia, and northern Idaho, and near Glacier National Park, Montana.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
OR
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
WA
