Micranthes palmeri
Micranthes lyallii
Palmer's saxifrage
Lyall's saxifrage, red-stem saxifrage
basal;
petiole flattened, 1–9 cm;
blade ovate to elliptic, 2–8 cm, slightly fleshy, base attenuate, margins entire or subentire, ciliate, surfaces tangled, reddish brown-hairy.
basal;
petiole rounded to flattened, 2–10 cm;
blade spatulate to obovate, 0.8–8 cm, thin, base cuneate to slightly attenuate, margins serrate to dentate, eciliate or sparsely glandular-ciliate, surfaces abaxially glabrous, adaxially sparsely brown-hairy.
30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes almost secund), very open, lax thyrses, 6–50 cm, hairy proximally, densely so distally.
usually 10–15-flowered, lax, cylindric thyrses, (red), (4–)7–30 cm, sparsely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular.
sepals erect to ascending, ovate to triangular;
petals white, not spotted, broadly oblong to elliptic, not clawed, 3–6 mm, 2+ times as long as sepals;
filaments linear, flattened;
pistils distinct almost to base;
ovary ± superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium).
sepals reflexed, oblong to elliptic;
petals white, each with 2 basal yellowish green spots, elliptic to round, clawed, 2–5.5 mm, longer than sepals;
filaments club-shaped, (to 6 mm);
pistils connate 1/2+ their lengths;
ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium).
green with reddish or purplish tinge, or reddish purple, folliclelike.
green to yellow, distal 1/2 purple, ± folliclelike, (basally connate).
= ca. 56, 58.
Micranthes palmeri
Micranthes lyallii
Although they have nearly disjunct sets of populations, the subspecies of Micranthes lyallii are difficult to distinguish from each other. The more northern plants tend to be larger with wider leaves and often have been called Saxifraga lyallii subsp. or var. hultenii. Apparent hybrids with M. odontoloma occur in Alberta, British Columbia, and northern Idaho, and near Glacier National Park, Montana.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
