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spotted saxifrage, yellowdot saxifrage

Habit Plants mat-forming, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous. Plants loosely mat-forming, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous, with caudex.
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.

cauline (crowded proximally);

petiole absent;

blade spatulate, unlobed, 2–7 mm, leathery, margins entire, densely glandular-ciliate, apex rounded or obtuse, not or short-mucronate, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

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

bracts sessile.

3–6-flowered cymes, 2–6.5 cm, 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 erect to ascending, ovate to oblong, margins eciliate or glandular-ciliate, surfaces glabrous;

petals white to cream, yellow-spotted, sometimes sparsely red-spotted proximally, elliptic to obovate, 3–4 mm, longer than sepals;

ovary superior.

2n

= 26.

Saxifraga bronchialis

Saxifraga cherlerioides

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Rocky slopes and ledges, gravelly flats
Elevation 0-800 m (0-2600 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; Asia (Kamchatka, Siberia)
[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.)

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. 142.
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. aleutica, S. bracteata, S. bronchialis, S. cernua, S. cespitosa, 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
Synonyms S. bronchialis subsp. cherlerioides, S. bronchialis var. cherlerioides
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 400. 1753 , D. Don: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13: 382. (1822)
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