The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Matted saxifrage, saxifraga vespertina, spotted saxifrage, yellow dot saxifrage

spotted saxifrage, yellowdot saxifrage

Habit Plants forming loose mats, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous. Plants mat-forming, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, rhizomatous.
Leaves

cauline (crowded proximally);

petiole absent;

blade spatulate, unlobed or minutely 3-toothed or -lobed apically, 4–11 mm, leathery, margins entire, (not cartilaginous), stiffly ciliate, apex rounded or obtuse, mucronate, surfaces glabrous.

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.

Inflorescences

3–6-flowered cymes, 2.5–12 cm, pink- to purple-tipped stipitate-glandular;

bracts sessile.

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

bracts sessile.

Flowers

sepals erect, ovate to oblong, margins sparsely ciliate, surfaces glabrous;

petals white to cream, yellow-spotted proximally, red- or orange-spotted distally, these often faded in dried specimens, elliptic, 4–6 mm, much longer than sepals;

ovary superior.

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.

2n

= 26.

Saxifraga vespertina

Saxifraga bronchialis

Phenology Flowering summer.
Habitat Rocky slopes, ledges, crevices
Elevation 100-1800 m (300-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CO; ID; MT; NM; OR; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; NT; YT; Eurasia; arctic and alpine areas
[WildflowerSearch 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. 142. FNA vol. 8, p. 140.
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. oppositifolia, S. paniculata, S. radiata, S. rivularis, S. serpyllifolia, S. taylorii, S. tricuspidata, S. tridactylites
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
Subordinate taxa
S. bronchialis subsp. austromontana, S. bronchialis subsp. funstonii
Synonyms Leptasea vespertina, S. bronchialis subsp. vespertina, S. bronchialis var. vespertina
Name authority (Small) Fedde: Just’s Bot. Jahresber. 33(1): 613. (1906) Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 400. 1753 ,
Web links