Micranthes occidentalis |
Micranthes idahoensis |
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mountain saxifrage, redwool saxifrage, western saxifrage |
Idaho 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 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. |
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). |
15+-flowered, open thyrses, (flowers ± crowded at tips, becoming more open in fruit), 10–40 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
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. |
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). |
Capsules | greenish or reddish to ± dark purple, folliclelike. |
green to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 20, 38, 40, 56, 58. |
= 20. |
Micranthes occidentalis |
Micranthes idahoensis |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Wet, rocky or gravelly slopes, moist to dry alpine meadows, flushes | Open ledges and slopes |
Elevation | 500-4000 m (1600-13100 ft) | 500-2500 m (1600-8200 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; WA; WY; AB; BC; SK
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ID; MT; OR; WA
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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.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 62. | FNA vol. 8, p. 64. |
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 idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii subsp. idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii var. idahoensis, Saxifraga occidentalis var. idahoensis |
Name authority | (S. Watson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 144. 1905 , | (Piper) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. 2007 , |
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