Micranthes oregana |
Micranthes howellii |
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bog saxifrage, Oregon or bogsaxifrage, Oregon saxifrage |
Howell's saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clusters, with caudex or thick, fleshy rhizomes. | Plants solitary or in groups, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | basal; petiole indistinct, flattened, 3–10 cm; blade linear to oblanceolate, 6–25 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins serrulate to denticulate, ciliate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
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. |
Inflorescences | (30–)50+-flowered, open to ± crowded, conic to cylindric thyrses, 25–125 cm, hairy proximally, yellow- to pink-tipped stipitate-glandular distally. |
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). |
Flowers | sepals reflexed, ovate to triangular; petals white, not spotted, broadly elliptic to obovate and 2 times as long as sepals, sometimes oblanceolate and equaling or shorter than sepals, clawed, 2–5 mm; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior, often appearing superior in fruit. |
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. |
Capsules | green to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
purple, valvate. |
2n | = 38, 76. |
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Micranthes oregana |
Micranthes howellii |
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Phenology | Flowering early spring–summer. | Flowering early spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Bogs, marshes | Wet, rocky ledges and crevices |
Elevation | 100-2500 m (300-8200 ft) | 0-900 m (0-3000 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; AB
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CA; OR
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Discussion | In both habitat and morphology, Micranthes oregana is similar to M. pensylvanica. A thorough investigation of the two species, especially the populations in Colorado that are disjunct from those in Montana, is needed to clarify relationships. The name Saxifraga integrifolia was misapplied to M. oregana by early California authors. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 67. | FNA vol. 8, p. 63. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga oregana, Saxifraga montanensis, Saxifraga oregana var. montanensis | Saxifraga howellii |
Name authority | (Howell) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 138. 1905 , | (Greene) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 140. (1905) |
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