Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Saxifragales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Micranthes petiolaris var. petiolaris
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read about the break-up of Saxifraga and the Saxifragaceae from Alan Weakley and the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society.
Learn more about Michaux's Saxifrage from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Check out Jim Fowler's blog describing his encounter with a recently described, narrowly endemic, variety of M. petiolaris.
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saxifraga michauxii
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Micranthes petiolaris var. shealyi: a new variety of Micranthes (Saxifragaceae) (Cushman, Richards, McMillan, 2020)
Micranthes petiolaris var. petiolaris
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Micranthes petiolaris
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Saxifraga michauxii
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-14-001:
Saxifraga michauxii FAMILY Saxifragaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydatica petiolaris
COMMON NAME:
Michaux's Saxifrage, Cliff Saxifrage
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hype7_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm200522_5148
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm100626_032
June Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
The upper three petals each have two yellow spots, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm100626_035
June Avery County NC
The Roan Highlands
Leaves are coarsely serrate, obovate to oblanceolate, from 2-6" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Keith Bradley kab_h_petiolaris_0754
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0307g_17
July Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Our only Saxifrage with bilaterally symmetric flowers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
JK Marlow jkm060723_104
July Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm060723_106
July Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Hairy perennial with most leaves in a basal rosette, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm060723_343
July Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0308w_04
August Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Plant from 4-20" tall with a large open inflorescence, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0311d_37
November Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Reddish-green leaves & stem and deeply toothed spatulate leaves, per Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962).
)
JK Marlow jkm0311e_01
November Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0311e_08
November Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Micranthes petiolaris var. petiolaris
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Saxifraga michauxii
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Micranthes petiolaris var. shealyi: a new variety of Micranthes (Saxifragaceae) (Cushman, Richards, McMillan, 2020)
Micranthes petiolaris var. petiolaris
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Micranthes petiolaris
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Saxifraga michauxii
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-14-001:
Saxifraga michauxii
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hydatica petiolaris
1334
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: rock outcrops, especially in seasonal seepage, at low to high elevations in the Southern and Central Appalachians, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, uncommon in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal (rarely any stem leaves)
FLOWER:
Summer
Whitish
Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals
5 petals
10 stamens, barely exserted
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p110
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p109
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p089
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p100
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p092
- Guide to the Plants of Granite Outcrops (Murdy & Carter, 2000) p14
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p085
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p023
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p106
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p325
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p113
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p143
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p403
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p064
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