Micranthes hitchcockiana |
Micranthes fragosa |
|
---|---|---|
Saddle Mountain saxifrage |
brittle-leaf saxifrage, Clayton's saxifrage, fleshy-leaf saxifrage |
|
Habit | Plants solitary or in clumps, short-rhizomatous. | Plants often mat-forming, long, thin-rhizomatous. |
Leaves | basal; petiole often indistinct, flattened, 5–50 mm; blade elliptic to obovate, 4–12 cm, slightly fleshy, base cuneate, margins serrate to dentate, densely ciliate, surfaces densely tangled-hairy. |
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 | 70+-flowered, open, lax, flat-topped thyrses, 15–35 cm, tangled, yellow-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 reflexed, elliptic to ovate; petals white, not spotted, elliptic, clawed, 2–5 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 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 | greenish to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
green or reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 76. |
= 20, 38. |
Micranthes hitchcockiana |
Micranthes fragosa |
|
Phenology | Flowering late spring–summer. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Wet rocks and ledges on mountain-top balds | Wet, mossy cliffs, unstable slopes, often near watercourses |
Elevation | 600-1100 m [2000-3600 ft] | 100-2600 m [300-8500 ft] |
Discussion | Of conservation concern. Micranthes hitchcockiana may have originated from hybridization between M. rufidula and M. oregana (P. E. Elvander 1984; W. E. Perkins 1978). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Distribution |
OR
|
ID; OR; WA
|
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga hitchcockiana | Saxifraga fragosa, Saxifraga claytoniifolia, Saxifraga fragosa subsp. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga integrifolia var. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga nidifica var. claytoniifolia |
Name authority | (Elvander) Brouillet & Gornall: Novon 18: 138. 2008 , | (Suksdorf ex Small) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 137. (1905) |
Source | Flora of North America vol. 8, p. 70. | Flora of North America vol. 8, p. 68. |
Web links |