E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Saxifraga oppositifolia L. subsp. oppositifolia
purple mountain saxifrage
Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants
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E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Saxifraga oppositifolia subsp. oppositifolia
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Species Information

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General:
Caespitose, perennial herb forming thick cushions to 20 cm across and 2-7 cm tall; flowering stems 1-5 cm tall; plants generally smooth but bristle-fringed on leaves and calyces.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking, stem leaves opposite, persistent, oblong- to egg-shaped, 1-5 mm long, fringed, unstalked, overlapping on non-flowering shoots.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of single flowers, at ends of leafy branches; petals bright pink-purple to blue-purple, or rarely white, spoon-egg-shaped to egg-shaped-oblong, 6-9 mm long, 5- to 7-veined; calyces cup-shaped, lobed for 3/4 or more of length, free hypanthium absent, the lobes oblong-oval, 2-3.5 mm long, fleshy, coarsely fringed, erect or slightly spreading; stamens 10.
Fruits:
Capsules, 6-9 mm long; seeds light brown, about 0.6 mm long, lightly veined.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic meadows fellfields, slopes and rock outcrops in the upper subalpine and alpine zones; frequent throughout BC; circumpolar, N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to NH, VT, WY, ID and OR; Iceland; N Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

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