Micranthes ferruginea
Alaska saxifrage
Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Alaska saxifrage
Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from thick stem-bases and dense fibrous roots; flowering stems 1 or more, 15-35 cm tall, branched, soft-hairy below, glandular-hairy above.
Leaves:
Basal leaves in a rosette, oblanceolate to wedge-shaped, 2-10 cm long, 5-15 mm wide, 7- to 17-toothed, gradually tapered at base to winged stalks, somewhat fleshy, greyish-hairy, thin-hairy or sparsely fringed; stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence open, diffuse, branched, the bracts leaf-like or greatly reduced and linear, the lower ones often with bulblets; petals white, curved to one side of flower, 4-6 mm long, of 2 types, 3 wider and egg-shaped with bases squared-off to heart-shaped, the other 2 more elliptic-lanceolate to broadly egg-shaped, the bases wedge-shaped; calyces nearly free of ovary, lobed almost to base, the lobes oblong-egg-shaped, 1.5-2.5 mm long, reddish or purplish, sharply bent back; stamens 10.
Fruits:
Capsules, 4-6 mm long; seeds brownish, about 0.7 mm long, with several lengthwise rows of pimples.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Micranthes ferruginea
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1601 | 5 | 2370 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
36 | 0 | 250 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
200 | 5 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
2 | 0 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
361 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
ESSF | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(17), BAFA(45), CMA(25), CWH(35), ESSF(153), ICH(8), IDF(1), IMA(15), MH(36), MS(2), SBS(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Moist rock outcrops, gravelly slopes and streambanks in the lowland to alpine zones; frequent throughout BC, except absent in NE BC; N to AK and YT, E to AB and S to WY, ID and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Saxifraga ferruginea Graham