Micranthes oregana |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
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bog saxifrage, Oregon or bogsaxifrage, Oregon saxifrage |
Yellowstone saxifrage |
|
Habit | Plants solitary or in clusters, with caudex or thick, fleshy rhizomes. | Plants solitary or in clumps, 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 usually indistinct, flattened, ca. 2 cm; blade ovate or elliptic to oblanceolate, 3–15 cm, fleshy, base cuneate, margins entire or minutely denticulate, ciliate, surfaces hairy. |
Inflorescences | (30–)50+-flowered, open to ± crowded, conic to cylindric thyrses, 25–125 cm, hairy proximally, yellow- to pink-tipped stipitate-glandular distally. |
30+-flowered, ± constricted (spikelike) to ± open thyrses, 20–75 cm, yellow- to pink- (rarely purplish-) 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; petals absent, sometimes 1–5, pink to purplish, not spotted, elliptic, clawed, 1–2 mm, shorter than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary inferior. |
Capsules | green to reddish purple, folliclelike. |
dark purple, valvate. |
2n | = 38, 76. |
= 76. |
Micranthes oregana |
Micranthes subapetala |
|
Phenology | Flowering early spring–summer. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Bogs, marshes | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wet banks, ledges |
Elevation | 100-2500 m (300-8200 ft) | 1200-3000 m (3900-9800 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; WA; AB
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ID; MT; WY
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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.) |
Although the species is usually distinctive, some populations of Micranthes subapetala in northern Wyoming appear more similar to M. hieraciifolia than to typical M. subapetala and may need to be re-evaluated. The distributional disjunction between the two taxa is about 1600 kilometers. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 67. | FNA vol. 8, p. 66. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Saxifraga oregana, Saxifraga montanensis, Saxifraga oregana var. montanensis | Saxifraga subapetala, Saxifraga oregana var. subapetala, Saxifraga rydbergii |
Name authority | (Howell) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 138. 1905 , | (E. E. Nelson) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 139. 1905 , |
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