Micranthes hitchcockiana

(Elvander) Brouillet & Gornall

Novon 18: 138. 2008 ,.

Common names: Hitchcock’s saxifrage
Basionym: Saxifraga hitchcockiana Elvander Syst. Bot. Monogr. 3: 34. 1984,
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 70. Mentioned on page 51.

Plants solitary or in clumps, short-rhizomatous. Leaves basal; petiole often indistinct, flattened, 5–50 mm; blade elliptic to obovate, 4–12 cm, slightly fleshy, base cuneate, margins serrate to dentate, densely ciliate, surfaces densely tangled-hairy. Inflorescences 70+-flowered, open, lax, flat-topped thyrses, 15–35 cm, tangled, yellow-tipped stipitate-glandular. Flowers: sepals reflexed, elliptic to ovate; petals white, not spotted, elliptic, clawed, 2–5 mm, longer than sepals; filaments linear, flattened; pistils connate to 1/2 their lengths; ovary 1/2 inferior, appearing more superior in fruit. Capsules greenish to reddish purple, folliclelike. 2n = 76.


Phenology: Flowering late spring–summer.
Habitat: Wet rocks and ledges on mountain-top balds
Elevation: 600-1100 m

Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Micranthes hitchcockiana may have originated from hybridization between M. rufidula and M. oregana (P. E. Elvander 1984; W. E. Perkins 1978).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.