Micranthes fragosa |
Micranthes tempestiva |
|
|---|---|---|
|
brittle-leaf saxifrage, Clayton's saxifrage, peak saxifrage |
storm saxifrage |
|
| Habit | Plants often mat-forming, long, thin-rhizomatous. | Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. |
| Leaves | 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. |
basal; petiole indistinct (leaves appearing sessile), flattened, 2–8+ mm; blade oblanceolate to obovate, 4–10(–30) mm, fleshy, base cuneate to attenuate, margins entire or minutely denticulate, eciliate, (apex acute to obtuse or rounded), surfaces ± glabrous; (venation pinnate or palmate). |
| Inflorescences | 30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes almost secund), open, lax, conic thyrses with ± open cymules on lateral branches, 20–50 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
5–15(–20)-flowered, congested thyrses, 3–10(–15) cm, glabrous or sparsely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
| Flowers | 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. |
sepals spreading, ovate; petals white, not spotted, linear to obovate, clawed, to 1.5 mm, shorter than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary inferior. |
| Capsules | green or reddish purple, folliclelike. |
reddish purple, valvate. |
| 2n | = 20, 38. |
= 10. |
Micranthes fragosa |
Micranthes tempestiva |
|
| Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
| Habitat | Wet, mossy cliffs, unstable slopes, often near watercourses | Rocky ledges, slopes, or snow-bed meadows |
| Elevation | 100-2600 m [300-8500 ft] | 2400-3200 m [7900-10500 ft] |
| Distribution |
ID; OR; WA
|
MT |
| 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.) |
Of conservation concern. Micranthes tempestiva is known only from the Bitterroot Mountains and Anaconda Range. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
| Parent taxa | ||
| Sibling taxa | ||
| Synonyms | Saxifraga fragosa, Saxifraga claytoniifolia, Saxifraga fragosa subsp. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga integrifolia var. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga nidifica var. claytoniifolia | Saxifraga tempestiva |
| Name authority | (Suksdorf ex Small) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 137. (1905) | (Elvander & Denton) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1021. 2007 , |
| Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. | FNA vol. 8, p. 69. |
| Web links |
| |