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spotted saxifrage, yellowdot saxifrage

Aleut saxifrage, Aleutian saxifrage

Habit Plants mat-forming, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous. Plants mat-forming, not stoloniferous, rhizomatous.
Leaves

basal and cauline, (marcescent, crowded);

petiole absent;

blade (sometimes reddish), linear or linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, unlobed, 3–15 mm, leathery, margins entire, stiffly, often hooked, white-ciliate, sometimes also glandular-ciliate, apex acute, white spinulose-mucronate (spine 1–1.5 mm), surfaces glabrous, sometimes adaxially sparsely sessile-glandular.

basal and cauline, (basal crowded, cauline 1–2);

petiole absent;

blade oblanceolate to spatulate, unlobed, 3–6 mm, fleshy, margins entire, eciliate, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

2–15-flowered cymes or thyrses, sometimes solitary flowers, 5–20 cm, sparsely short stipitate-glandular;

bracts sessile.

solitary flowers, 0.5–2 cm, densely pink- to purple-tipped stipitate-glandular;

bracts sessile.

Flowers

sepals ± erect, (purplish), ovate to triangular, margins eciliate or sparsely glandular, surfaces glabrous or sparsely sessile-glandular;

petals yellowish white, purple- or red- to yellow-spotted, oblong to elliptic, 3–7 mm, longer than sepals;

ovary superior.

sepals reflexed, oblong to ovate or triangular, margins stipitate-glandular, surfaces glabrous;

petals greenish yellow, not spotted, elliptic to narrowly obovate, 2–3 mm, ± equaling sepals;

ovary superior.

Saxifraga bronchialis

Saxifraga aleutica

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Gravelly areas, hill and mountain tops
Elevation 200-1200 m (700-3900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT; Eurasia; arctic and alpine areas
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
AK
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 4 (2 in the flora).

The Saxifraga bronchialis complex, including S. cherlerioides, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, and S. vespertina, needs a thorough study.

Saxifraga firma Litvinov ex Losina-Losinskaja has been cited for North America; the name belongs in synonymy of a Eurasian subspecies and appears to have been misapplied to North American specimens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Saxifraga aleutica is found on the Aleutian Islands.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Petals yellow-spotted, distinctly clawed.
subsp. funstonii
1. Petals yellow-spotted proximally, purple- or red-spotted distally, not clawed.
subsp. austromontana
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 140. FNA vol. 8, p. 140.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Saxifraga Saxifragaceae > Saxifraga
Sibling taxa
S. adscendens, S. aizoides, S. aleutica, S. bracteata, S. cernua, S. cespitosa, S. cherlerioides, S. chrysantha, S. debilis, S. eschscholtzii, S. flagellaris, S. hirculus, S. hyperborea, S. mertensiana, S. nathorstii, S. oppositifolia, S. paniculata, S. radiata, S. rivularis, S. serpyllifolia, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, S. tridactylites, S. vespertina
S. adscendens, S. aizoides, S. bracteata, S. bronchialis, S. cernua, S. cespitosa, S. cherlerioides, S. chrysantha, S. debilis, S. eschscholtzii, S. flagellaris, S. hirculus, S. hyperborea, S. mertensiana, S. nathorstii, S. oppositifolia, S. paniculata, S. radiata, S. rivularis, S. serpyllifolia, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, S. tridactylites, S. vespertina
Subordinate taxa
S. bronchialis subsp. austromontana, S. bronchialis subsp. funstonii
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 400. 1753 , Hultén: Svensk Bot. Tidskr. 30: 522, fig. 4. 1936 ,
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