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redfuzz saxifrage

branch-lettuce, lettuceleaf saxifrage

Habit Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices.
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 ± 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+-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–)50+–flowered, very open, lax thyrses, 30–75 cm, pink- to purplish-tipped stipitate-glandular; (bracts gradually smaller distally).

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 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

purplish, valvate.

green, sometimes purplish, folliclelike.

2n

= 22.

Micranthes eriophora

Micranthes micranthidifolia

Phenology Flowering late winter–early summer. Flowering spring.
Habitat Rocky slopes and ledges Rocky seepage slopes, stream banks
Elevation 1900-3000 m (6200-9800 ft) 400-2100 m (1300-6900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
GA; KY; MD; NC; PA; SC; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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.)

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 64. FNA vol. 8, p. 60.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Micranthes Saxifragaceae > Micranthes
Sibling taxa
M. apetala, M. aprica, M. bryophora, M. californica, M. calycina, M. careyana, M. caroliniana, M. ferruginea, M. foliolosa, M. fragosa, M. gaspensis, M. gormanii, M. hieraciifolia, M. hitchcockiana, M. howellii, M. idahoensis, M. integrifolia, M. lyallii, M. marshallii, M. micranthidifolia, M. nelsoniana, M. nidifica, M. nivalis, M. nudicaulis, M. occidentalis, M. odontoloma, M. oregana, M. palmeri, M. pensylvanica, M. petiolaris, M. razshivinii, M. reflexa, M. rhomboidea, M. rufidula, M. spicata, M. stellaris, M. subapetala, M. tempestiva, M. tenuis, M. texana, M. tischii, M. tolmiei, M. unalaschcensis, M. virginiensis
M. apetala, M. aprica, M. bryophora, M. californica, M. calycina, M. careyana, M. caroliniana, M. eriophora, M. ferruginea, M. foliolosa, M. fragosa, M. gaspensis, M. gormanii, M. hieraciifolia, M. hitchcockiana, M. howellii, M. idahoensis, M. integrifolia, M. lyallii, M. marshallii, M. nelsoniana, M. nidifica, M. nivalis, M. nudicaulis, M. occidentalis, M. odontoloma, M. oregana, M. palmeri, M. pensylvanica, M. petiolaris, M. razshivinii, M. reflexa, M. rhomboidea, M. rufidula, M. spicata, M. stellaris, M. subapetala, M. tempestiva, M. tenuis, M. texana, M. tischii, M. tolmiei, M. unalaschcensis, M. virginiensis
Synonyms Saxifraga eriophora Robertsonia micranthidifolia, Aulaxis micranthidifolia, Saxifraga micranthidifolia
Name authority (S. Watson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 142. (1905) (Haworth) Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 501, 1331. 1903 ,
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