Flora of North America species comparison

The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Micranthes nelsoniana var. cascadensis

Micranthes nelsoniana
Photo is of parent taxon

Cascade saxifrage, Cascades dotted saxifrage, dotted saxifrage, Nelson's saxifrage

dotted saxifrage, heartleaf saxifrage, Nelson's saxifrage, saxifrage
Habit Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on branched caudices, rhizomatous.
Leaves

blades thin, not fleshy, margins 12–18-toothed.

basal;

petiole rounded, 3–30 cm;

blade reniform to round, 2–9 cm, thin or slightly fleshy, sometimes thick and fleshy, base cordate, margins deeply crenate, eciliate or sparsely short glandular-ciliate, surfaces glabrous or ± hairy.
Inflorescences

somewhat lax, tangled-appressed hairy.

10+-flowered, ± open, lax to congested, conic, sometimes also glomerate thyrses, 10–35 cm, tangled-hairy (pilose-arachnoid) at least distally, sometimes also purple- or brown-tipped stipitate-glandular.
Flowers

sepals reflexed, ± ovate;

petals white to pinkish, rarely orange-spotted, ovate to oblong, narrowly to broadly clawed, 2.5–4.5 mm, longer than sepals;

filaments distinctly club-shaped;

pistils connate 1/2–3/4 their lengths;

ovary superior (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium).
Pistils

connate most of their lengths.

Capsules

3–8 mm.

green to yellow and purplish tinged to dark purple, valvate.

Micranthes nelsoniana var. cascadensis

Micranthes nelsoniana
Phenology Flowering late spring–summer.
Habitat Wet areas, stream banks
Elevation 800-2500 m (2600-8200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; WA; BC
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; OR; WA; AB; BC; NT; NU; YT; Europe (ne Russia); Asia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Variety cascadensis has sometimes been confused with Micranthes odontoloma, probably because the petal spots of var. cascadensis fade on herbarium specimens. The more deeply toothed leaves, the compactness of the inflorescence, and the tangled inflorescence hairs clearly distinguish it from M. odontoloma. This variety is present in the Coast and Cascade ranges.

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

Varieties 6 (5 in the flora).

Although sometimes reported for North America, Saxifraga nelsoniana var. aestivalis (Fischer & C. A. Meyer) H. Ohba (S. aestivalis Fischer & C. A. Meyer) is found only in Eurasia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Inflorescences purple- or brown-tipped stipitate- glandular.
var. nelsoniana
1. Inflorescences tangled-hairy
→ 2
2. Leaf blade margins 9-12-toothed; capsules 6-12 mm; mostly Queen Charlotte Islands, adjacent coastal British Columbia.
var. carlottae
2. Leaf blade margins 12-18-toothed; capsules 3-8 mm; Oregon to Alaska and nw Canada
→ 3
3. Inflorescences somewhat lax, hairs appressed; Coast Ranges and Cascades, British Columbia, Oregon, Washington.
var. cascadensis
3. Inflorescences congested, hairs ascending; nw Canada, Alaska
→ 4
4. Leaf blades thick, fleshy; pistils connate most of their lengths; Aleutian Islands, Alaska.
var. insularis
4. Leaf blades thin, not fleshy; pistils connate to 3/4 their lengths; nw Canada, Alaska.
var. porsildiana
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 56. FNA vol. 8, p. 54.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Micranthes > Micranthes nelsoniana Saxifragaceae > Micranthes
Sibling taxa
M. nelsoniana var. carlottae, M. nelsoniana var. insularis, M. nelsoniana var. nelsoniana, M. nelsoniana var. porsildiana
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. idahoensis, M. integrifolia, M. lyallii, M. marshallii, M. micranthidifolia, 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
Subordinate taxa
M. nelsoniana var. carlottae, M. nelsoniana var. cascadensis, M. nelsoniana var. insularis, M. nelsoniana var. nelsoniana, M. nelsoniana var. porsildiana
Synonyms Saxifraga punctata subsp. cascadensis, Saxifraga nelsoniana subsp. cascadensis, Saxifraga punctata var. cascadensis Saxifraga nelsoniana, Saxifraga punctata subsp. nelsoniana, Saxifraga punctata var. nelsoniana
Name authority (Calder & Savile) Gornall & H. Ohba: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. (2007) (D. Don) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 147. 1905 ,
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



Type/paste one or more Latin names into the boxes above; matching taxa will show up below the box as you type. You can use the up/down arrow keys to move through the list.

(If the plant you're looking for doesn't show up in the auto-complete list, that means it either isn't described in Flora of North America yet, or it's listed under a synonym. And please note that Flora of North America is still missing several plant families, including Apiaceae, Boraginaceae, and Polemoniaceae.)

Choose a data source: Flora of North America, OregonFlora, UW Burke Herbarium

The species comparison tool is brought to you by:
Northwest Wildflowers