Micranthes fragosa |
Micranthes texana |
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brittle-leaf saxifrage, Clayton's saxifrage, peak saxifrage |
Texas saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants often mat-forming, long, thin-rhizomatous. | Plants solitary or in clumps, 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 flattened, 1–3 cm; blade broadly ovate to oblong, 1.5–3 cm, ± leathery, base ± abruptly attenuate, margins subentire to slightly crenate, eciliate, surfaces glabrate to sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | 30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes almost secund), open, lax, conic thyrses with ± open cymules on lateral branches, 20–50 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
20+-flowered, branched, ± capitate thyrses, 10–15 cm, hairy, sometimes 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 erect, ovate; petals white, not spotted, ± obovate, clawed, 2–3.5 mm, ± equaling sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils 3+, connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior, appearing more superior in fruit. |
Capsules | green or reddish purple, folliclelike. |
reddish to purplish, valvate. |
2n | = 20, 38. |
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Micranthes fragosa |
Micranthes texana |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering late winter–spring. |
Habitat | Wet, mossy cliffs, unstable slopes, often near watercourses | Sandy flats, rocky, open, wooded areas, granite outcrops |
Elevation | 100-2600 m [300-8500 ft] | 50-500 m [160-1600 ft] |
Distribution |
ID; OR; WA
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AR; GA; KS; LA; MO; OK; TX |
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. 68. | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga fragosa, Saxifraga claytoniifolia, Saxifraga fragosa subsp. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga integrifolia var. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga nidifica var. claytoniifolia | Saxifraga texana |
Name authority | (Suksdorf ex Small) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 137. (1905) | (Buckley) Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 501. 1903 , |
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