Micranthes micranthidifolia
branch-lettuce, lettuceleaf saxifrage
basal;
petiole ± indistinct, (broad), flattened, 3–15 cm;
blade lanceolate to oblanceolate, 4–35 cm, thin, base attenuate, margins irregularly serrate to dentate, ciliate, surfaces sparsely hairy.
(30–)50+–flowered, very open, lax thyrses, 30–75 cm, pink- to purplish-tipped stipitate-glandular; (bracts gradually smaller distally).
sepals strongly reflexed, oblong;
petals white, with 2 basal yellow spots that sometimes appear as 1 (sometimes faded in dried material), ± elliptic to spatulate, clawed, 2–3 mm, longer than sepals;
filaments strongly club-shaped;
pistils distinct almost to base;
ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium).
green, sometimes purplish, folliclelike.
= 22.
Micranthes micranthidifolia
Micranthes micranthidifolia was formerly gathered by local people in the southern Appalachians as a spring “green” (hence the common name, “branch” being dialect for a small stream); it is still occasionally seen in local grocery stores.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
MD Biodiversity
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
