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redfuzz saxifrage

Yellowstone saxifrage

Habit Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. Plants solitary or in clumps, 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 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

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, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) 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 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.

Capsules

purplish, valvate.

dark purple, valvate.

2n

= 76.

Micranthes eriophora

Micranthes subapetala

Phenology Flowering late winter–early summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Rocky slopes and ledges Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges
Elevation 1900-3000 m (6200-9800 ft) 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; NM; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
ID; MT; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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. 64. FNA vol. 8, p. 66.
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. 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. tempestiva, M. tenuis, M. texana, M. tischii, M. tolmiei, M. unalaschcensis, M. virginiensis
Synonyms Saxifraga eriophora Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii
Name authority (S. Watson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 142. (1905) (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 ,
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