Micranthes californica | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Saxifragaceae |
Genus: | Micranthes |
Species: | M. californica |
Binomial name | |
Micranthes californica (Greene) Small | |
Synonyms | |
Saxifraga californicaGreene |
Micranthes californica (syn: Saxifraga californica), known by the common name California saxifrage, [1] is a species of flowering plants.
It is native to much of California west and north of the desert regions, as well as adjacent sections of southern Oregon and northern Baja California. It grows in many types of moist habitat from the coast to the mountains.
Micranthes californica is a perennial herb producing a small gray-green basal rosette of thick toothed oval leaves up to 10 centimeters long.
The inflorescence arises on a peduncle up to 35 centimeters tall bearing clusters of flowers, sometimes all on one side. Each flower has five green to reddish sepals, five small white petals, and ten stamens at the center.
Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 465 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word saxifraga means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin saxum + frangere. It is usually thought to indicate a medicinal use for treatment of urinary calculi, rather than breaking rocks apart.
Micranthes stellaris, synonym Saxifraga stellaris, the starry saxifrage or hairy kidney-wort, is an Arctic–alpine species in the family Saxifragaceae. It produces panicles of 5–10 white flowers on a stem up to 20 cm (7.9 in) tall, rising from a basal leaf rosette. One subspecies is found from eastern Canada to Russia, including the British Isles, while another is found in the mountains of southern Europe.
Aesculus californica, commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a species of buckeye native to California and southwestern Oregon.
Micranthes virginiensis, the early saxifrage, or Virginia saxifrage, is a wildflower native to eastern and central North America.
Micranthes nivalis is a plant species in the saxifrage family. It is commonly called snow saxifrage or (ambiguously) alpine saxifrage.
Adolphia californica, known by the common names California adolphia, California prickbush, and spineshrub, is a species of flowering shrub in the buckthorn family.
Extriplex californica is a plant species known by the common name California saltbush or California orache. Formerly, it was included in genus Atriplex. It is native to coastal California and Baja California, where it grows in areas with saline soils, such as beaches and salt marshes.
Minuartia californica, commonly known as California sandwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae.
Rhinotropis californica, synonym Polygala californica, is a species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common name California milkwort. It is native to southwestern Oregon and northern and central California, where it grows in the coastal mountain ranges in local habitat types such as chaparral and forest. It is a perennial herb producing spreading stems, generally decumbent in form, up to about 35 centimeters in maximum length, lined with narrow oval leaves each a few centimeter long. The upper inflorescences produce several open flowers, and there may be some closed, cleistogamous flowers lower on the plant. The open flowers have pink or white winglike lateral sepals with hairy edges. The petals are similar in color, the central one tipped with a white or yellow beak. The fruit is a flattened green capsule up to a centimeter long containing hairy seeds.
Ribes californicum, with the common name hillside gooseberry, is a North American species of currant. It is endemic to California, where it can be found throughout many of the California Coast, Transverse, and Peninsular Ranges in local habitat types such as chaparral and woodlands.
Romanzoffia californica is a species of flowering plant in the borage family known by the common name California mistmaiden. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in moist and wet habitat, such as coastal bluffs and mountain forests.
Micranthes bryophora is a species of flowering plant known by the common name bud saxifrage. It is native to the western United States, where its two varieties are geographically separated. The more common var. bryophora is endemic to the mountains of California, and the rare var. tobiasiae is known only from the Payette National Forest of western Idaho.
Micranthes howellii is a species of saxifrage known by the common name Howell's saxifrage. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of southern Oregon and northern California, where it grows in moist, rocky habitat. It is a perennial herb growing from a caudex, usually with a rhizome system. It produces a basal rosette of leaves with rounded or oval blades edged with dull or sharp teeth or scalloping. Each leaf is up to 6 centimeters long, thick and fleshy, and borne on a short petiole. The inflorescence arises on an erect peduncle up to 20 centimeters tall. An array of branches bear several flowers with small white petals.
Micranthes integrifolia is a species of flowering plant known by the common name wholeleaf saxifrage. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Montana and northern California, where it grows in moist habitat, including meadows, prairies, and grassy mountain slopes. It is a perennial herb growing from a caudex and system of rhizomes, and producing a basal rosette of leaves. Each leaf is up to 7 centimeters long with a toothed or smooth-edged blade borne on a short petiole. The inflorescence arises on a stout, hairy peduncle up to 35 centimeters tall. White-petaled flowers occur in a cluster or dense array at the top.
Micranthes oregana is a species of flowering plant known by the common name Oregon saxifrage. It is native to western North America, including the mountainous regions of the western United States. It can be found in moist habitat, such as marshes and other wetlands. It is a perennial herb growing from a thick, fleshy or woody caudex. It produces a basal rosette of linear to lance-shaped leaves each up to 25 centimeters long. The inflorescence arises on a stout peduncle which may exceed a meter in height. It is topped with one or more dense clusters of white-petaled flowers.
Saxifraga rivularis is a species of saxifrage known by several common names, including highland saxifrage, weak saxifrage, alpine brook saxifrage, and pygmy saxifrage.
Smilax jamesii is a species of flowering plant in the greenbriar family known by the common name English Peak greenbriar. It is to northern California, where it is known from the Klamath Mountains and the southernmost peaks of the Cascade Range. It has also been reported from nearby locations in southwestern Oregon. It grows in moist areas such as lakesides and streambanks in mountain coniferous forest habitat. It was discovered to be a new species when herbarium specimens thought to be Smilax californica were reexamined.
Suaeda californica is a rare species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name California seablite. It is now endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California, where it is known from a few occurrences in the marshes around Morro Bay, historical populations around San Francisco Bay have been extirpated.
Micranthes is a genus of flowering plants in the saxifrage family. It was formerly included within the genus Saxifraga until recent DNA evidence showed the members of what is now Micranthes are more closely related to Boykinia and Heuchera than to other members of the genus Saxifraga.
Micranthes occidentalis, commonly known as western saxifrage, is a species of flowering plant native to North America.