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Saxifraga debilis Engelmann ex A. Gray [family SAXIFRAGACEAE]

Herbarium
Flora of North America (FNA)
Collection
Flora of North America
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of North America, Vol 8,
Names
Saxifraga debilis Engelmann ex A. Gray [family SAXIFRAGACEAE], Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 15: 62. 1864,
Saxifraga cernua Linnaeus var. debilis (Engelmann ex A. Gray) Engler [family SAXIFRAGACEAE]
Saxifraga hyperborea R. Brown subsp. debilis (Engelmann ex A. Gray) Á. Löve, D. Löve & B. M. Kapoor [family SAXIFRAGACEAE]
Saxifraga rivularis Linnaeus var. debilis (Engelmann ex A. Gray) Dorn [family SAXIFRAGACEAE]
Treatment Author(s)
Luc Brouillet
Patrick E. Elvander†
Information
Plants usually densely tufted, sometimes loosely so, not stoloniferous, not rhizomatous. Leaves basal and cauline, (3–5, proximal similar to basal); petiole ± flattened, 5–70 mm; blade round or reniform, (3–)5–7-lobed (lobes obtuse), (3–)4.5–6.7(–10.3) mm, slightly fleshy, margins entire, eciliate, surfaces glabrous. Inflorescences 2–3(–5)-flowered, capitate cymes, sometimes solitary flowers, (flowers subsessile), (3–)6.7–9(–19.4) cm, tangled, nonglandular-hairy; bracts petiolate. Flowers (hypanthium V-shaped in longisection, glabrous or sparsely short stipitate-glandular); sepals erect, oblong to ovate, (0.7–1 mm wide), margins eciliate, surfaces abaxially glabrous; petals white to pale purple, not spotted, oblong, (1.7–)3–4.4(–6.2) mm, ± equaling sepals; ovary 1/2 inferior. 2n = 26.
Phenology
Flowering summer
Altitude range
2500–4000 m
Distribution
USA Colo.USA Mont.USA N.Mex.USA UtahUSA Wyo.
Discussion
Saxifraga debilis is known only from the central and southern Rocky Mountains, where it is often called S. rivularis (a species not present in the area). Its V-shaped (in longisection), glabrous or sparsely short stipitate-glandular hypanthia, and larger, more-lobed leaves (similar to S. bracteata in this) distinguish it from S. hyperborea, which is sometimes sympatric (M. H. Jørgensen et al. 2006).
Saxifraga debilis Engelmann ex A. Gray [family SAXIFRAGACEAE]
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