Micranthes tolmiei |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
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alpine saxifrage, Tolmie's alpine saxifrage, Tolmie's saxifrage |
Yellowstone saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants mat-forming, (stems trailing, thin, basally slightly woody), with slender, woody caudices. | Plants solitary or in clumps, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | cauline, proximally crowded; petiole absent; blade elliptic-obovate, 0.8–1.5 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins entire, sometimes proximally sparsely long-ciliate, surfaces glabrous. |
basal; petiole usually indistinct, flattened, ca. 2 cm; blade ovate or elliptic to oblanceolate, 3–15 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins entire or minutely denticulate, ciliate, surfaces hairy. |
Inflorescences | 2–10-flowered, lax cymes, sometimes solitary flowers, 3–12 cm, glabrous or purplish- or pink-tipped stipitate-glandular; (bracts 1–3, proximal). |
30+-flowered, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals erect to spreading, ovate; petals white, not spotted, linear to oblanceolate, 2.5–5 mm, longer than sepals, short- or not clawed; filaments broadly club-shaped (± petaloid); pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary ± superior (to 1/4 adnate to hypanthium). |
sepals reflexed, ovate; petals absent, sometimes 1–5, pink to purplish, not spotted, elliptic, clawed, 1–2 mm, shorter than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary inferior. |
Capsules | green, purple mottled, valvate. |
dark purple, valvate. |
2n | = 30. |
= 76. |
Micranthes tolmiei |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
Phenology | Flowering summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Arctic and alpine tundra, fell-fields | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges |
Elevation | 500-4000 m (1600-13100 ft) | 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; BC
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ID; MT; WY
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Discussion | Unlike those of most Micranthes species, the leaves of M. tolmiei are proximally cauline and the ovules have two integuments. The seeds have a loose, winglike testa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Although the species is usually distinctive, some populations of Micranthes subapetala in northern Wyoming appear more similar to M. hieraciifolia than to typical M. subapetala and may need to be re-evaluated. The distributional disjunction between the two taxa is about 1600 kilometers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 54. | FNA vol. 8, p. 66. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga tolmiei, Saxifraga tolmiei var. ledifolia | Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii |
Name authority | (Torrey & A. Gray) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1022. 2007 , | (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 , |
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