Micranthes howellii |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
---|---|---|
Howell's saxifrage |
Yellowstone saxifrage |
|
Habit | Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. | Plants solitary or in clumps, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | basal; petiole flattened, 1–4 cm; blade oblong to narrowly ovate, 1–2(–3) cm, ± fleshy, base attenuate, margins sharply serrate, eciliate, surfaces sparsely tangled, reddish brown-hairy abaxially, glabrous adaxially. |
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 | 5–10(–20)-flowered, very open, lax, ± flat-topped cymes or thyrses, 5–10(–20) cm, glabrate to sparsely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular; (bracts glabrous). |
30+-flowered, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals strongly reflexed, elliptic, (surfaces glabrous); petals white, not spotted, obovate to elliptic, clawed, 2.5–4.5 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils distinct almost to base; ovary ± superior. |
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 | purple, valvate. |
dark purple, valvate. |
2n | = 76. |
|
Micranthes howellii |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
Phenology | Flowering early spring–early summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Wet, rocky ledges and crevices | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges |
Elevation | 0-900 m (0-3000 ft) | 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR
|
ID; MT; WY
|
Discussion | 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. 63. | FNA vol. 8, p. 66. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga howellii | Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii |
Name authority | (Greene) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 140. (1905) | (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 , |
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