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Alaska saxifrage, nodding saxifrage, spider plant, spider saxifrage, stoloniferous or spider or spider-legged saxifrage, stoloniferous saxifrage, whiplash saxifrage

alpine-brook saxifrage, weak saxifrage

Habit Plants in solitary clumps, stoloniferous, slenderly rhizomatous. Plants (delicate), loosely tufted or matted, (green to purple), stoloniferous, weakly rhizomatous, (with bulbils in axils of basal leaves).
Leaves

basal and cauline;

petiole absent;

blade oblong-lanceolate or elliptic to obovate, unlobed, 5–20 mm, fleshy, margins entire, sparsely to densely, coarsely glandular-ciliate, distal sometimes ciliate, apex acute to ± obtuse, mucronate, surfaces glabrous.

basal and cauline;

petiole ± flattened, 2–30(–50) mm;

blade reniform, 3–5(–7)-lobed (lobes rounded, sometimes ± obtuse, distalmost unlobed), (2.6–)3.7–5.2(–7.4) mm, slightly fleshy, margins entire, eciliate or sparsely glandular-ciliate, without lime-secreting hydathodes (with nonsecreting hydathodes at lobe apices), apex acute, surfaces glabrous.

Inflorescences

2–3(–5)-flowered, lax cymes, sometimes solitary flowers, 1–15 cm, densely purplish-tipped stipitate-glandular;

bracts sessile.

2–3(–5)-flowered cymes, sometimes solitary flowers, (flowers pedicellate), 1.7–7 cm, glabrous or sparsely to ± densely tangled, pink-tipped stipitate-glandular;

bracts (2–3), petiolate, (unlobed or 1–3-lobed, reduced).

Flowers

sepals erect, elliptic or oblong-ovate, margins stipitate glandular-ciliate, surfaces stipitate-glandular;

petals yellow, not spotted, elliptic to broadly obovate, 4–9(–10) mm, longer than sepals;

ovary superior to ca. 1/2 inferior.

(hypanthium U-shaped in longisection);

sepals erect, (sometimes rusty brown), elliptic to ovate, margins eciliate or sparsely glandular-ciliate, glabrous or sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular;

petals white, sometimes pink tinged, not spotted, oblong to elliptic, 2–6 mm, to 2–3 times length of sepals;

ovary 1/2 inferior.

Saxifraga flagellaris

Saxifraga rivularis

Distribution
from FNA
AK; AZ; CO; ID; MT; NM; UT; WY; AB; BC; NT; NU; YT; Asia (c Asia, Caucasus, Russian Far East, Siberia); Atlantic Islands (Svalbard)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; NH; NU; QC; n Eurasia
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies ca. 8 (3 in the flora).

Although sometimes reported from North America, subspecies flagellaris is not present in the flora area; it is native in Eurasia.

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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

Some reports of Saxifraga sibirica Linnaeus from Canada are misidentifications of this species.

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

Key
1. Ovaries superior; inflorescence bract blades shorter than internodes.
subsp. setigera
1. Ovaries at least 1/2 inferior; inflorescence bract blades longer than internodes
→ 2
2. Inflorescences (2-)4-15 cm; hypanthia and sepals whitish- and black-tipped stipitate-glandular; petals elliptic to narrowly obovate, length to 2 times sepals.
subsp. crandallii
2. Inflorescences 1-4(-6) cm; hypanthia and sepals black-tipped stipitate-glandular; petals broadly obovate, length 2+ times sepals.
subsp. platysepala
1. Plants wholly green or purple only in inflorescences; hair crosswalls usually without color, rarely pale purple; inflorescences 2.7-7 cm, glabrous or sparsely stipitate-glandular; hypanthia sparsely short stipitate-glandular, hairs 0.1-0.3(-0.4) mm.
subsp. rivularis
1. Plants mostly purple (at least inflorescences); hair crosswalls purple; inflorescences 1.7-3 cm, sparsely to densely stipitate-glandular; hypanthia sparsely to densely long stipitate-glandular, hairs (0.2-)0.3-0.6(-1.1) mm.
subsp. arctolitoralis
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 138. FNA vol. 8, p. 144.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Saxifraga Saxifragaceae > Saxifraga
Sibling taxa
S. adscendens, S. aizoides, S. aleutica, S. bracteata, S. bronchialis, S. cernua, S. cespitosa, S. cherlerioides, S. chrysantha, S. debilis, S. eschscholtzii, 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. cherlerioides, S. chrysantha, S. debilis, S. eschscholtzii, S. flagellaris, S. hirculus, S. hyperborea, S. mertensiana, S. nathorstii, S. oppositifolia, S. paniculata, S. radiata, S. serpyllifolia, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, S. tridactylites, S. vespertina
Subordinate taxa
S. flagellaris subsp. crandallii, S. flagellaris subsp. platysepala, S. flagellaris subsp. setigera
S. rivularis subsp. arctolitoralis, S. rivularis subsp. rivularis
Name authority Willdenow: in C. M. von Sternberg, Revis. Saxifrag. 1: 25, plate 6. 1810 , Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 404. (1753)
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