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Idaho saxifrage

hawkweed-leaf saxifrage

Habit Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on caudices. Plants mostly solitary, with short caudices, sometimes rhizomatous.
Leaves

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.

basal;

petiole sometimes indistinct, flattened, 2–4 cm;

blade ovate to elliptic, 2–6 cm, ± fleshy, base cuneate to slightly attenuate, margins usually ± evenly serrulate to denticulate, ciliate, surfaces sparsely to densely hairy and sparsely stipitate-glandular.

Inflorescences

15+-flowered, open thyrses, (flowers ± crowded at tips, becoming more open in fruit), 10–40 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular.

30+-flowered, constricted, spikelike thyrses, 7–30 cm, tangled-hairy proximally, densely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular distally.

Flowers

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).

sepals spreading to reflexed, triangular to ovate;

petals dark reddish purple, not spotted, narrowly ovate to lanceolate, slightly clawed, 1.5–3 mm, equaling sepals;

filaments linear, flattened;

pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths;

ovary 1/2+ inferior.

Capsules

green to reddish purple, folliclelike.

reddish to purple, valvate.

2n

= 20.

= 112, 120.

Micranthes idahoensis

Micranthes hieraciifolia

Phenology Flowering spring–early summer. Flowering summer.
Habitat Open ledges and slopes Wet, mossy tundra, streamsides, ledges, crevices
Elevation 500-2500 m (1600-8200 ft) 0-2000 m (0-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; MT; BC; NT; NU; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

In British Columbia, Micranthes hieraciifolia is disjunct between the far north and the Okanagan-Thompson Plateau in the south (S. A. Harris 2003).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 64. FNA vol. 8, p. 66.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Micranthes Saxifragaceae > Micranthes
Sibling taxa
M. apetala, M. aprica, M. bryophora, M. californica, M. calycina, M. careyana, M. caroliniana, M. eriophora, M. ferruginea, M. foliolosa, M. fragosa, M. gaspensis, M. gormanii, M. hieraciifolia, M. hitchcockiana, M. howellii, M. integrifolia, M. lyallii, M. marshallii, M. micranthidifolia, M. nelsoniana, M. nidifica, M. nivalis, M. nudicaulis, M. occidentalis, M. odontoloma, M. oregana, M. palmeri, M. pensylvanica, M. petiolaris, M. razshivinii, M. reflexa, M. rhomboidea, M. rufidula, M. spicata, M. stellaris, M. subapetala, M. tempestiva, M. tenuis, M. texana, M. tischii, M. tolmiei, M. unalaschcensis, M. virginiensis
M. apetala, M. aprica, M. bryophora, M. californica, M. calycina, M. careyana, M. caroliniana, M. eriophora, M. ferruginea, M. foliolosa, M. fragosa, M. gaspensis, M. gormanii, M. hitchcockiana, M. howellii, M. idahoensis, M. integrifolia, M. lyallii, M. marshallii, M. micranthidifolia, M. nelsoniana, M. nidifica, M. nivalis, M. nudicaulis, M. occidentalis, M. odontoloma, M. oregana, M. palmeri, M. pensylvanica, M. petiolaris, M. razshivinii, M. reflexa, M. rhomboidea, M. rufidula, M. spicata, M. stellaris, M. subapetala, M. tempestiva, M. tenuis, M. texana, M. tischii, M. tolmiei, M. unalaschcensis, M. virginiensis
Synonyms Saxifraga idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii subsp. idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii var. idahoensis, Saxifraga occidentalis var. idahoensis Saxifraga hieraciifolia, Saxifraga hieraciifolia var. angusticapsula, Saxifraga hieraciifolia var. rufopilosa
Name authority (Piper) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. 2007 , (Waldstein & Kitaibel ex Willdenow) Haworth: Saxifrag. Enum., 45. 1821 (as hieracifolia) ,
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