Micranthes hitchcockiana |
Micranthes idahoensis |
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Hitchcock's saxifrage, Saddle Mountain saxifrage |
Idaho saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clumps, short-rhizomatous. | Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on caudices. |
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, 1–5 cm; blade ovate to elliptic, 1–4 cm, ± fleshy, base attenuate, margins shallowly serrate to dentate (teeth usually to 1 mm), sparsely ciliate, surfaces tangled, reddish brown-hairy abaxially, glabrate adaxially. |
Inflorescences | 70+-flowered, open, lax, flat-topped thyrses, 15–35 cm, tangled, yellow-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
15+-flowered, open thyrses, (flowers ± crowded at tips, becoming more open in fruit), 10–40 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 reflexed, ovate to oblong; petals white, with 2 basal yellow spots (often faded when dried), elliptic to ovate, clawed to nearly not clawed, 1–3.5 mm, ± equaling sepals; filaments club-shaped, not petaloid, (equaling petals); pistils distinct almost to base; ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium). |
Capsules | greenish to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
green to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 76. |
= 20. |
Micranthes hitchcockiana |
Micranthes idahoensis |
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Phenology | Flowering late spring–summer. | Flowering spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Wet rocks and ledges on mountain-top balds | Open ledges and slopes |
Elevation | 600-1100 m (2000-3600 ft) | 500-2500 m (1600-8200 ft) |
Distribution |
OR
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ID; MT; OR; WA
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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 idahoensis appears to hybridize with M. occidentalis where their ranges overlap. Intermediates are abundant in some populations along the Idaho-Montana border and in Montana. This phenomenon may explain the range of filament shapes found in M. occidentalis, from flattened to sightly club-shaped. The issue of the status of M. idahoensis with respect to M. marshallii (D. L. Krause and K. I. Beamish 1972) is best deferred until a thorough study of the whole complex over its entire range is done. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 70. | FNA vol. 8, p. 64. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga hitchcockiana | Saxifraga idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii subsp. idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii var. idahoensis, Saxifraga occidentalis var. idahoensis |
Name authority | (Elvander) Brouillet & Gornall: Novon 18: 138. 2008 , | (Piper) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. 2007 , |
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