Micranthes eriophora |
Micranthes fragosa |
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redfuzz saxifrage |
brittle-leaf saxifrage, Clayton's saxifrage, peak saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. | Plants often mat-forming, long, thin-rhizomatous. |
Leaves | basal; petiole flattened, 0.5–2.5 cm; blade ovate to elliptic, 1–2 cm, ± fleshy, base attenuate, margins sharply serrate, sparsely to densely ciliate (some glandular-tipped), surfaces densely tangled, reddish brown-hairy abaxially, glabrous adaxially. |
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+-flowered, (flowers often secund), very open, lax, often flat-topped thyrses with distant lateral branches, 6–25 cm, pink- to purplish-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
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, triangular; petals white, sometimes purplish-tipped, not spotted, obovate to elliptic, not clawed or barely clawed, 4–7 mm, ca. 2 times as long as sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils distinct almost to base; ovary 1/3–1/2 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 | purplish, valvate. |
green or reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 20, 38. |
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Micranthes eriophora |
Micranthes fragosa |
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Phenology | Flowering late winter–early summer. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes and ledges | Wet, mossy cliffs, unstable slopes, often near watercourses |
Elevation | 1900-3000 m (6200-9800 ft) | 100-2600 m (300-8500 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; NM; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua)
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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. 64. | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga eriophora | Saxifraga fragosa, Saxifraga claytoniifolia, Saxifraga fragosa subsp. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga integrifolia var. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga nidifica var. claytoniifolia |
Name authority | (S. Watson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 142. (1905) | (Suksdorf ex Small) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 137. (1905) |
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