Micranthes oregana |
Micranthes idahoensis |
|
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bog saxifrage, Oregon or bogsaxifrage, Oregon saxifrage |
Idaho saxifrage |
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Habit | Plants solitary or in clusters, with caudex or thick, fleshy rhizomes. | Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | basal; petiole indistinct, flattened, 3–10 cm; blade linear to oblanceolate, 6–25 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins serrulate to denticulate, ciliate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy. |
basal; petiole flattened, 1–5 cm; blade ovate to elliptic, 1–4 cm, ± fleshy, base attenuate, margins shallowly serrate to dentate (teeth usually to 1 mm), sparsely ciliate, surfaces tangled, reddish brown-hairy abaxially, glabrate adaxially. |
Inflorescences | (30–)50+-flowered, open to ± crowded, conic to cylindric thyrses, 25–125 cm, hairy proximally, yellow- to pink-tipped stipitate-glandular distally. |
15+-flowered, open thyrses, (flowers ± crowded at tips, becoming more open in fruit), 10–40 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals reflexed, ovate to triangular; petals white, not spotted, broadly elliptic to obovate and 2 times as long as sepals, sometimes oblanceolate and equaling or shorter than sepals, clawed, 2–5 mm; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior, often appearing superior in fruit. |
sepals reflexed, ovate to oblong; petals white, with 2 basal yellow spots (often faded when dried), elliptic to ovate, clawed to nearly not clawed, 1–3.5 mm, ± equaling sepals; filaments club-shaped, not petaloid, (equaling petals); pistils distinct almost to base; ovary superior, (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium). |
Capsules | green to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
green to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
2n | = 38, 76. |
= 20. |
Micranthes oregana |
Micranthes idahoensis |
|
Phenology | Flowering early spring–summer. | Flowering spring–early summer. |
Habitat | Bogs, marshes | Open ledges and slopes |
Elevation | 100-2500 m (300-8200 ft) | 500-2500 m (1600-8200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; AB
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ID; MT; OR; WA
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Discussion | In both habitat and morphology, Micranthes oregana is similar to M. pensylvanica. A thorough investigation of the two species, especially the populations in Colorado that are disjunct from those in Montana, is needed to clarify relationships. The name Saxifraga integrifolia was misapplied to M. oregana by early California authors. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Micranthes idahoensis appears to hybridize with M. occidentalis where their ranges overlap. Intermediates are abundant in some populations along the Idaho-Montana border and in Montana. This phenomenon may explain the range of filament shapes found in M. occidentalis, from flattened to sightly club-shaped. The issue of the status of M. idahoensis with respect to M. marshallii (D. L. Krause and K. I. Beamish 1972) is best deferred until a thorough study of the whole complex over its entire range is done. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 67. | FNA vol. 8, p. 64. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga oregana, Saxifraga montanensis, Saxifraga oregana var. montanensis | Saxifraga idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii subsp. idahoensis, Saxifraga marshallii var. idahoensis, Saxifraga occidentalis var. idahoensis |
Name authority | (Howell) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 138. 1905 , | (Piper) Brouillet & Gornall: J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 1: 1020. 2007 , |
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