Micranthes virginiensis |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
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early saxifrage, early small-flower-saxifrage, saxifrage de virginie, Virginia saxifrage |
Yellowstone saxifrage |
|
Habit | Plants solitary or in clumps, with bulbils on caudices. | Plants solitary or in clumps, with bulbils on caudices. |
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 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 | 30+-flowered, (flowers sometimes secund), very open, lax, ± flat-topped thyrses, 6–50 cm, proximally hairy, distally densely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
30+-flowered, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) 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 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 to purplish, folliclelike. |
dark purple, valvate. |
2n | = 20 (+ 0–6 supernumeraries), 38. |
= 76. |
Micranthes virginiensis |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Rocky hillsides, cliffs and shaded rock outcrops, stream banks, wooded slopes | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges |
Elevation | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) | 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 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; MT; WY
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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.) |
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. 61. | FNA vol. 8, p. 66. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes | Saxifragaceae > Micranthes |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga virginiensis | Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii |
Name authority | (Michaux) Small: Fl. S.E. U.S., 501. 1903 , | (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 , |
Web links |