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Saxifraga oppositifolia

purple mountain saxifrage, purple or purple mountain saxifrage, purple saxifrage, saxifrage à feuilles opposées, twinflower saxifrage

ascending saxifrage, rock saxifrage, wedge-leaf saxifrage

Habit Plants mat- or cushion-forming (with trailing, ± woody stems), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous. Plants biennial, sometimes behaving as winter annual, solitary or tufted, not stoloniferous, with caudex.
Leaves

cauline (marcescent, crowded), opposite (rarely alternate);

petiole absent;

blade oblong to ± broadly obovate, unlobed, 2–5 mm, leathery, margins entire, bristly-ciliate, with 1(–3) lime-secreting hydathodes (in pit, secretion obvious), apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous.

basal and cauline, (basal persistent, compact);

petiole absent (cuneate base ± petiolelike);

blade oblanceolate to obovate, (2–)3(–5)-toothed or shallowly lobed apically, rarely unlobed (distal often so), (lobes forwardly directed), (2–)4–15 mm, slightly fleshy, margins entire, stipitate glandular-ciliate, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrate to stipitate-glandular.

Inflorescences

solitary flowers, ebracteate, 1–5 cm, glabrate or sparsely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular.

(2–)6–15(–40)-flowered thyrses, (1–)4–25 cm, densely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular;

bracts sessile.

Flowers

sepals erect, ovate, margins stiffly ciliate or not, surfaces hairy, stipitate-glandular, or glabrous;

petals purple to pink, rarely white, often drying violet, not spotted, obovate to elliptic, (2–)5–12(–20) mm, longer than sepals;

ovary ± superior.

sepals erect, (usually reddish purple), ovate or triangular to oblong, margins stipitate glandular-ciliate, surfaces stipitate-glandular;

petals white, not spotted, obovate to oblanceolate, (2–)3–6 mm, equaling or longer than sepals;

ovary inferior.

Capsules

± folliclelike.

2n

= 22.

Saxifraga oppositifolia

Saxifraga adscendens

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Moist, often shaded cliff ledges, screes, talus slopes, gravelly stream banks, gravelly alpine meadows
Elevation 1200-4200 m [3900-13800 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MT; NY; OR; VT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Eurasia; arctic and alpine
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT; Europe
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 7 (2 in the flora).

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

Although the North American plants of Saxifraga adscendens have been known as subsp. oregonensis, expressions of the supposed distinguishing characters appear to overlap completely with the variation found in Europe. The plants produce bulbils on caudices.

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

Key
1. Sepal margins bristly-ciliate
subsp. oppositifolia
1. Sepal margins glandular-ciliate
subsp. smalliana
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 136. FNA vol. 8, p. 145.
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. mertensiana, S. nathorstii, S. paniculata, S. radiata, S. rivularis, S. serpyllifolia, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, S. tridactylites, S. vespertina
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. rivularis, S. serpyllifolia, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, S. tridactylites, S. vespertina
Subordinate taxa
S. oppositifolia subsp. oppositifolia, S. oppositifolia subsp. smalliana
Synonyms Muscaria adscendens, S. adscendens subsp. oregonensis, S. adscendens var. oregonensis, S. oregonensis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 402. 1753 , Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 405. 1753 ,
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