Saxifrage Family – Saxifragaceae
Actual flower size: 1/2 inch across
Petalless Saxifrage is also called Swamp Saxifrage. The former Latin name for this plant was Saxifraga apetala.
Plant Description: Petalless Saxifrage is a 4 to 12 inch tall perennial. The flowering stem is leafless, covered with gland-tipped hairs and has a congested, egg-shaped cluster of flowers at the top. It has a rosette of basal leaves, egg-shaped, less than 1.5 inches long, tapering into short petioles, smooth edged to slightly toothed, and sparsely hairy.
Flower Description: The flowers are 1/2 inch across. The sepals form a shallow cup with 5 petal-like lobes. There are usually no petals, but if there are, they are usually green or yellow. 10 short stamens with yellow anthers emerge from the edge of a flattened, lobed disk that more or less covers the styles and the bases of the stigmas of the pistils.
Ecology: Petalless Saxifrage grows on grassy slopes and spring-moist meadows at middle to high elevations.
Notes:
- Petalless Saxifrage is sometimes listed as a variation of Grassland Saxifrage (Saxifrage integrifolia).
- This genus of this Petalless Saxifrage has recently been changed from Saxifrage to Micranthes. See the note below the gallery on the Saxifrage Family page and the “APG Changes” page for more information.