Saxifraga mertensiana |
Saxifraga cespitosa |
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Merten's or wood or woodland saxifrage, Mertens' saxifrage, wood saxifrage, woodland saxifrage |
saxifrage cespiteuse, tuft alpine saxifrage, tuft or tuft alpine saxifrage, tuft saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clumps, not stoloniferous, with caudex or short-rhizomatous. | Plants densely cushion- to loosely mat-forming, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous, with ± woody caudex. |
Leaves | basal and cauline, (basal persistent, cauline ± inconspicuous); petiole rounded, 2–20 mm; blade round to reniform, irregularly shallowly lobed, 20–80(–100) mm, thin, margins serrate, stipitate glandular-ciliate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces sparsely hairy. |
basal and proximal cauline, (marcescent, crowded); petiole flattened, 2–6(–12) mm; blade elliptic to obovate or spatulate, 3(–5)-lobed apically (lobes oblong-elliptic), 4–15(–25) mm, ± fleshy, margins entire, sparsely short glandular-ciliate (mostly proximally), (nonsecreting hydathodes present adaxially at each lobe apex), apex obtuse, surfaces sparsely to densely short stipitate-glandular. |
Inflorescences | 30+-flowered, open, much-branched thyrses, usually some or all flowers replaced by bulbils (sometimes bulbils absent), 15–40 cm, dark purple-tipped stipitate-glandular; bracts (± inconspicuous), petiolate or sessile. |
2–5-flowered cymes, sometimes solitary flowers, to 2–15(–20) cm, densely clear- or cream- to pinkish yellow-tipped stipitate-glandular; bracts sessile. |
Flowers | sepals reflexed (at least in fruit), ovate to elliptic, margins eciliate, surfaces sparsely stipitate-glandular or glabrous; petals white, not spotted, narrowly ovate to elliptic, (3–)4–6 mm, longer than sepals; filaments strongly club-shaped; ovary superior. |
sepals erect to spreading, triangular or ovate to elliptic, margins stipitate-glandular, surfaces stipitate-glandular; petals white, proximally greenish to yellowish tinged, not spotted but sometimes striate, elliptic or oblanceolate to obovate, (1.5–)3–7(–15) mm, equaling or longer than sepals; ovary inferior. |
2n | = 36, ca. 48, 50. |
= 78, 80. |
Saxifraga mertensiana |
Saxifraga cespitosa |
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Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Moist to wet stream banks, mossy cliffs and slopes, waterfall spray zones | Rock outcrops, crevices, talus, scree slopes, rocky tundra, fellfields, nunataks, stream banks |
Elevation | 0-2500 m (0-8200 ft) | 0-4500 m (0-14800 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
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AK; AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NL; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia (Siberia)
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Discussion | Plants of Saxifraga mertensiana bear bulbils in the axils of basal leaves. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The North American representatives of Saxifraga cespitosa are very variable. It seems futile at this time to recognize any of the infrapecific taxa that have been described, although five are frequently distinguished as either subspecies or varieties. Expressions of all of the purported distinguishing characters overlap or have little apparent geographic or ecologic correlation. The only Southern Hemisphere representatives of Saxifraga are closely related to S. cespitosa. Reports of S. rosacea Moench from southern Greenland are misidentifications of this species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 146. | FNA vol. 8, p. 146. |
Parent taxa | Saxifragaceae > Saxifraga | Saxifragaceae > Saxifraga |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. mertensiana var. eastwoodiae | Muscaria delicatula, Muscaria micropetala, Muscaria monticola, S. cespitosa subsp. decipiens, S. cespitosa var. emarginata, S. cespitosa subsp. exaratioides, S. cespitosa subsp. laxiuscula, S. cespitosa var. lemmonii, S. cespitosa var. minima, S. cespitosa subsp. monticola, S. cespitosa subsp. sileneflora, S. cespitosa subsp. subgemmifera, S. cespitosa var. subgemmifera, S. cespitosa subsp. uniflora |
Name authority | Bongard: Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math. 2: 141. 1832 , | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 404. 1753 , |
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