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Merten's or wood or woodland saxifrage, Mertens' saxifrage, wood saxifrage, woodland saxifrage

ciliate saxifrage, cushion saxifrage

Habit Plants solitary or in clumps, not stoloniferous, with caudex or short-rhizomatous. Plants cushion-forming, rounded, sometimes mat-forming (then stems trailing), (stems slightly woody at base), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous, with 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 (sometimes cauline on trailing stems), (closely imbricate);

petiole absent;

blade round to broadly obovate, unlobed, 1–4 mm, ± fleshy, margins entire, stiffly bristly-ciliate, apex obtuse or rounded, surfaces glabrous.

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.

solitary flowers, to 1 cm, glabrous;

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.

unisexual (plants dioecious);

sepals spreading in flower, reflexed in fruit, (purple), triangular to ovate, margins ciliate, surfaces hairy;

petals yellow, drying cream to brown, not spotted, linear to oblanceolate, 1–2.5 mm, ± equaling sepals;

ovary superior.

2n

= 36, ca. 48, 50.

= 12.

Saxifraga mertensiana

Saxifraga eschscholtzii

Phenology Flowering spring–summer. Flowering early summer.
Habitat Moist to wet stream banks, mossy cliffs and slopes, waterfall spray zones Cliffs and gravelly spits, rocky outcrops, gravel shores, tundra
Elevation 0-2500 m (0-8200 ft) 0-2000+ m (0-6600+ ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; NT; YT; Asia (Siberia)
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Plants of Saxifraga mertensiana bear bulbils in the axils of basal leaves.

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

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 146. FNA vol. 8, p. 139.
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. flagellaris, S. hirculus, S. hyperborea, 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. 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
Synonyms S. mertensiana var. eastwoodiae
Name authority Bongard: Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St.-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math. 2: 141. 1832 , Sternberg: Revis. Saxifrag., suppl. 1: 9. 1822 ,
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