|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Saxifraga occidentalis S. Wats. | Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
||||||||||||||
| TAXONOMY | |||||||||||||||
| Family: | Saxifragaceae | ||||||||||||||
| Genus: | Saxifraga | ||||||||||||||
| Species Synonyms: | Micranthes lata Small Micranthes occidentalis (S. Wats.) Small Micranthes saximontana (E. Nels.) Small Saxifraga occidentalis var. allenii (Small) C.L. Hitchc. Saxifraga occidentalis var. wallowensis M.E. Peck Saxifraga reflexa ssp. occidentalis (S. Wats.) Hultén |
||||||||||||||
| Common Names: | mountain saxifrage | ||||||||||||||
| DISTRIBUTION | |||||||||||||||
| Canada: | British Columbia – western and southeastern Alberta – southwestern Saskatchewan | ||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | southwestern Saskatchewan; Cypress Hills | ||||||||||||||
| Ecoregion: | Cypress Upland | ||||||||||||||
| HABITAT | |||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan: | fescue grassland slopes and meadows | ||||||||||||||
| Canada: | moist meadows to subalpine rocky slopes | ||||||||||||||
| RARITY STATUS | |||||||||||||||
| Provincial
Status According to Harms (2003): |
Threatened |
||||||||||||||
| Nature Conservancy Status: | G5 S1 |
||||||||||||||
| Saskatchewan
Species at Risk Status: |
None |
||||||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | None |
||||||||||||||
| Mountain saxifrage is threatened because it is rare and regionally restricted to the southwestern part of the province. Most local populations are small. Possible threats have been identified for this species. | |||||||||||||||
| SPECIES DESCRIPTION | |||||||||||||||
| Height: | 10 – 25 cm | ||||||||||||||
| Roots: | rhizomes horizontal, short | ||||||||||||||
| Stems: | in clumps of 3 – 6, leafless, hairs reddish-glandular | ||||||||||||||
| Leaves: | basal, 4 – 8, stalk slightly winged, 4 – 8 cm long, lance-shaped to oval or elliptic, fleshy, hairless above, reddish-woolly below, margin round-toothed to coarsely saw-toothed | ||||||||||||||
| Inflorescence: | clusters 3 – 6, inflorescence branched, contracted to divided equally into twos, lengthening with maturity | ||||||||||||||
| Flowers: | hypanthium shallow; sepals partially fused, lobes oval to lanceolate, purplish; petals 1.5 – 3.5 mm long, longer than the sepals, oval, nearly clawless, deciduous, white with 2 basal yellow spots to pink; stamens 10, equalling to slightly exceeding petals, filaments reddish; ovary reddish, carpels 2, stigmas head-like | ||||||||||||||
| Fruits: | capsule opening along one line; seeds numerous, brown | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
