Micranthes virginiensis |
Micranthes fragosa |
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early saxifrage, early small-flower-saxifrage, saxifrage de virginie, Virginia saxifrage |
brittle-leaf saxifrage, Clayton's saxifrage, peak saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clumps, with bulbils on caudices. | Plants often mat-forming, long, thin-rhizomatous. |
Leaves | basal; petiole flattened, 1–9 cm; blade ovate to elliptic, 2–8 cm, ± fleshy, base attenuate, margins irregularly crenate to serrate, ciliate, surfaces sparsely to ± densely stipitate-glandular and tangled, reddish brown-hairy, adaxially glabrescent. |
basal; petiole flattened, 4–10 cm; blade broadly ovate to deltate, 4–8(–10) cm, fleshy, base attenuate, margins entire or minutely denticulate, ciliate, surfaces glabrate to sparsely hairy. |
Inflorescences | 30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes secund), very open, lax, ± flat-topped thyrses, 6–50 cm, proximally hairy, distally densely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes almost secund), open, lax, conic thyrses with ± open cymules on lateral branches, 20–50 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals erect to ascending (even in fruit), ovate to triangular; petals white, not spotted, broadly oblong to elliptic, not or rarely slightly clawed, 3–6 mm, 2+ times as long as sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils distinct almost to base; ovary ± superior, (to 1/3 adnate hypanthium). |
sepals spreading to slightly reflexed, ovate to deltate; petals white, not spotted, obovate, clawed, 2–3 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior, appearing more superior in fruit. |
Capsules | green to purplish, folliclelike. |
green or reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 20 (+ 0–6 supernumeraries), 38. |
= 20, 38. |
Micranthes virginiensis |
Micranthes fragosa |
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Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Rocky hillsides, cliffs and shaded rock outcrops, stream banks, wooded slopes | Wet, mossy cliffs, unstable slopes, often near watercourses |
Elevation | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) | 100-2600 m (300-8500 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; GA; IL; IN; KY; LA; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; MB; NB; ON; QC
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ID; OR; WA
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Discussion | Also reported for Micranthes virginiensis is 2n = 28; D. E. Soltis (1983) documented zero to six supernumerary chromosomes in this species and speculated that this report may have included eight supernumeraries. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Micranthes fragosa is restored to specific status here because a review of its differences with M. nidifica shows it to be more distinctive than previously thought, and for consistency in the application of criteria for species recognition within the rest of the genus. In the southernmost part of its range, M. fragosa converges in appearance with M. californica. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 61. | FNA vol. 8, p. 68. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga virginiensis | Saxifraga fragosa, Saxifraga claytoniifolia, Saxifraga fragosa subsp. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga integrifolia var. claytoniifolia, Saxifraga nidifica var. claytoniifolia |
Name authority | (Michaux) Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 501. 1903 , | (Suksdorf ex Small) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 137. (1905) |
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