Saxifraga tricuspidata
Skr. Kiøbenhavnske Selsk. Laerd. Elsk. 10: 446. 1770 (as 3cuspidata) ,.
Plants loosely mat-forming, (stems trailing), not stoloniferous, with elongate caudex or rhizomatous. Leaves cauline, (marcescent, crowded proximally); petiole absent; blade (often reddish), linear to cuneate, 1–3-lobed or -toothed apically (distal cauline unlobed), rarely all unlobed, (lobes long spinose-mucronate), 5–20 mm, leathery, margins entire, softly glandular-ciliate, (nonsecreting hydathodes present adaxially), apex acute, long spinose-mucronate, surfaces glabrous. Inflorescences 3–10-flowered cymes, 4–10(–24) cm, white to sparsely pink- to purple-tipped stipitate-glandular; bracts sessile. Flowers: sepals erect to ascending, (sometimes purplish), triangular-ovate, margins ± glandular-ciliate, surfaces white to purple-tipped stipitate-glandular; petals white to cream, proximally to distally yellow-, orange-, and red-spotted, elliptic to ovate, 4–7 mm, much longer than sepals; ovary superior. 2n = 26.
Phenology: Flowering late spring–summer.
Habitat: Open sandy, gravelly, or rocky sites, forest openings, grassy slopes, rocky ridges, stony tundra
Elevation: 0-3000 m
Distribution
Greenland, Alta., B.C., Man., Nfld. and Labr. (Labr.), N.W.T., Nunavut, Ont., Que., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Mich.
Discussion
The rare, entire-leaved form of Saxifraga tricuspidata can be confused with S. bronchialis; it has glandular-ciliate margins instead of stiffly hooked-ciliate ones.
Selected References
None.