Saxifrage Family – Saxifragaceae
Actual flower size: 1/2 inch across
Merten’s Saxifrage is also called Wood Saxifrage.
Plant Description: Merten’s Saxifrage is a 5 to 16 inch tall perennial with a glandular hairy stem and an open, branching inflorescence. There are 1 to 3 long-stemmed, round, basal leaves with a heart-shaped base and hairy petiole. The leaves are somewhat succulent and brittle, 1 to 4 inches across, with uniform, blunt lobes with 3 small teeth.
Flower Description: The flowers are 1/2 inch across. The 5 sepals are sharply reflexed and glandular hairy. The 5 white petals flare out and are oblong-elliptic, .2 inches long, narrowed abruptly at the base, and may be slightly notched. The 10 stamen are white and tapered with pink anthers. There are 2 widely divergent styles rising out of a yellow ring of nectaries. Some of the flowers may be replaced with pink bulblets.
Ecology: Merten’s Saxifrage grows in moist rocky places from lowland to subalpine.