Micranthes hitchcockiana |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
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Hitchcock's saxifrage, Saddle Mountain saxifrage |
Yellowstone saxifrage |
|
Habit | Plants solitary or in clumps, short-rhizomatous. | Plants solitary or in clumps, 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 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 | 70+-flowered, open, lax, flat-topped thyrses, 15–35 cm, tangled, yellow-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
30+-flowered, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) 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; 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 | greenish to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
dark purple, valvate. |
2n | = 76. |
= 76. |
Micranthes hitchcockiana |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
Phenology | Flowering late spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Wet rocks and ledges on mountain-top balds | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges |
Elevation | 600-1100 m (2000-3600 ft) | 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
OR
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ID; MT; WY
|
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.) |
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. 70. | FNA vol. 8, p. 66. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga hitchcockiana | Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii |
Name authority | (Elvander) Brouillet & Gornall: Novon 18: 138. 2008 , | (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 , |
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