Micranthes pensylvanica |
Micranthes nivalis |
|
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eastern swamp saxifrage, marsh, marsh saxifrage, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania saxifrage, swamp saxifrage, swamp small-flower-saxifrage |
alpine saxifrage, saxifrage des neiges, snow saxifrage |
|
Habit | Plants solitary or in groups, with thick, fleshy rhizomes. | Plants tufted, with bulbils on caudices. |
Leaves | basal; petiole indistinct, flattened, 3–10 cm; blade linear or elliptic to ovate, 6–25 cm, fleshy, base attenuate, margins entire or subentire, ciliate, surfaces usually densely short-hairy, often tangled brown-hairy along proximal midveins. |
basal; petiole flattened, (0.4–)1–4 cm; blade ovate to ± round, sometimes elliptic or oblong, (0.5–)1–4 cm, thick, coriaceous, base attenuate to ± truncate, margins serrate to dentate on distal 2/3 (sometimes more), proximally ciliate, surfaces ± densely tangled, reddish brown-hairy abaxially, glabrous or glabrate adaxially. |
Inflorescences | (30–)50+-flowered, open, often lax thyrses, 25–125 cm, purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
(5–)10–40-flowered, congested, almost capitate thyrses, (3–)7–20 cm, ± densely purple-tipped stipitate-glandular. |
Flowers | sepals reflexed, triangular to ovate; petals white to cream or rarely purple, not spotted, linear to narrowly elliptic, not clawed or slightly clawed, 2–3 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2+ inferior, appearing superior in fruit. |
sepals erect, spreading in fruit, ovate to deltate; petals white, sometimes pink tinged, not spotted, oblong to ovate, clawed, 2–4 mm, ± equaling sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate ca. 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2 inferior, appearing more superior in fruit. |
Capsules | green, folliclelike. |
green, becoming reddish to purplish, folliclelike. |
2n | = 56, 84, 112. |
= 60. |
Micranthes pensylvanica |
Micranthes nivalis |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring. | Flowering summer. |
Habitat | Marshy meadows, mucky seepages in woods, swamp forests, montane bogs and seeps | Open, mossy tundra, rocky ridges, or shady ledges |
Elevation | 100-1400 m (300-4600 ft) | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
CT; DE; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; PA; RI; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; MB; ON; SK
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AK; AB; BC; LB; NT; NU; QC; YT; Greenland; Europe; Asia (Himalayas, Kamchatka, Siberia) |
Discussion | Purple-petalled populations of Micranthes pensylvanica have been known as Saxifraga purpuripetala and are found in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Micranthes nivalis is closely related to M. tenuis. All records of M. nivalis in the United States (except Alaska) appear to be misapplied to or misidentifications of M. aprica, M. occidentalis, or M. rhomboidea. Occasional, dwarfed specimens of M. hieraciifolia and M. subapetala are similarly mislabelled. (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 pensylvanica, M. pensylvanica var. purpuripetala, Saxifraga forbesii, Saxifraga pensylvanica var. forbesii, Saxifraga pensylvanica subsp. interior, Saxifraga pensylvanica var. purpuripetala, Saxifraga pensylvanica subsp. tenuirostrata, Saxifraga purpuripetala | Saxifraga nivalis |
Name authority | (Linnaeus) Haworth: Saxifrag. Enum., 45. (1821) | (Linnaeus) Small: in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 136. 1905 , |
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