Micranthes occidentalis |
Micranthes bryophora |
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mountain saxifrage, redwool saxifrage, western saxifrage |
bud saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants in groups or sometimes almost mat-forming, with bulbils on caudices or rhizomatous. | Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | basal; petiole flattened, 1–5 cm; blade ovate to elliptic, 1.5–3.5 cm, ± fleshy, base ± attenuate to ± truncate, margins shallowly, sharply serrate, ciliate, surfaces sparsely tangled, reddish brown-hairy abaxially, glabrous adaxially. |
± basal; petiole absent; blade linear to narrowly elliptic, 0.5–4 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins subentire, ciliate, surfaces hirsute. |
Inflorescences | usually (10–)30+-flowered, flowers crowded into 1+ glomerules in thyrses with ascending branches, 8–30 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular; (bracts glabrous or marginally glandular-ciliate). |
usually 2–3+-flowered, open, lax thyrses, sometimes solitary flowers, (flowers terminal, proximal usually replaced by bulbils, sometimes bulbils absent), 2–25 cm, stipitate-glandular. (Pedicels reflexed.) Flowers: sepals reflexed, elliptic; petals white, each with 2 basal yellow spots, triangular to broadly ovate, clawed, 3–5 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate 1/2+ their lengths; ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium). |
Flowers | sepals ascending to spreading, sometimes reflexed in fruit, ovate to oblong, (surfaces glabrous); petals white, not spotted (spots rarely present), obovate to almost round, clawed, 2–4 mm, to 1.5 times as long as sepals; filaments linear to very slightly widened near anthers, flattened; pistils distinct almost to base; ovary ± superior. |
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Capsules | greenish or reddish to ± dark purple, folliclelike. |
green to yellow, purple tinged, valvate. |
2n | = 20, 38, 40, 56, 58. |
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Micranthes occidentalis |
Micranthes bryophora |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Wet, rocky or gravelly slopes, moist to dry alpine meadows, flushes | Wet meadows, rocky ledges |
Elevation | 500-4000 m (1600-13100 ft) | 1600-4500 m (5200-14800 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
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CA; ID
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Discussion | Micranthes occidentalis appears closely related to the little-known M. mexicana (Engler & Irmscher) Brouillet & Gornall from Chihuahua, Mexico. The latter is the only species of the genus that occurs in Mexico and not in the United States. Micranthes occidentalis is disjunct between the northern Rocky Mountains and the Cypress Hills of southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan, and the Black Hills of South Dakota. It hybridizes with M. idahoensis where their ranges overlap. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Specimens of Micranthes bryophora from the disjunct populations in Idaho have been called Saxifraga bryophora var. tobiasiae; they appear to overlap in morphology with the California plants and are not distinguished here. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 62. | FNA vol. 8, p. 58. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga occidentalis, Saxifraga allenii, Saxifraga occidentalis var. allenii, Saxifraga occidentalis var. wallowensis, Saxifraga reflexa subsp. occidentalis, Saxifraga saximontana | Saxifraga bryophora, Saxifraga bryophora var. tobiasiae |
Name authority | (S. Watson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 144. 1905 , | (A. Gray) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. (2007) |
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