Saxifraga paradoxa

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Saxifraga paradoxa
Atlas der Alpenflora (10055580074).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Saxifragaceae
Genus: Saxifraga
Species:
S. paradoxa
Binomial name
Saxifraga paradoxa
Synonyms [1]
  • Cymbalariella paradoxaNappi
  • Lobaria paradoxaHaw.
  • Zahlbrucknera paradoxaRchb.

Saxifraga paradoxa, commonly known as the fragile saxifrage, [2] is a perennial plant species in the family Saxifragaceae, [3] which occurs as a tertiary relict and endemic Saxifraga species [4] in the South-Eastern Alps. [5] Count Kaspar Maria von Sternberg described this species in his work Revisio Saxifragarum iconibus of 1810. [3]

Contents

Description

This perennial species is a deciduous to semi-deciduous low-growing plant that can reach up to 20 cm (8 in) in height and can spread around for approximately 30 cm (12 in) [2] with its ascending to decumbent stems. [6] Its shining and small leaves are mid- to bright green, in shape usually reniform (kidney-like) and slightly lobed. [2] [6] Saxifraga paradoxa characteristic are also small pale green coloured flowers that have linearly-shaped petals, red anthers and are arranged into an axillary cyme. [2] [7] The plant's flowering period is between May and August. [8]

Distribution and conservation

This Saxifraga species native range are South-Eastern Alps, with most of its populations inhabiting Slovenia and Austria. [3] In Austria Saxifraga paradoxa occurs in Carinthia and Styria, [7] while in Slovenia its growing area includes valleys of rivers Hudinja [9] and Lobnica (tributary of Drava) [10] near Pohorje, as well as Kozjak mountains and Košenjak. [7] Its habitat usually consists of damp and shaded rocky screes with non-calcareous basis, mostly containing granite and gneiss. [6] [11] After this species Slovakian botanist Ladislav Mucina named plant community Saxifragetum paradoxae, with Saxifraga paradoxa being its characteristic species. [4]

Saxifraga paradoxa has not yet been evaluated for the IUCN Red List. [12]

Taxonomy

So-called European purple saxifrages (members of Saxifraga's section Porphyrion and subsection Oppositifoliae) are a big group of numerous taxa with uncertain taxonomic position, widely distributed in mountain ranges of central and southern Europe. Researchers studied their evolutionary relationship with a use of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting and Saxifraga paradoxa was shown not to be genetically divergent taxon. [13] Recent research treats Saxifraga paradoxa as a member of Saxifraga's section Saxifraga and subsection Arachnoideae. [14] [15]

References

  1. 1 2 "Saxifraga paradoxa Sternb". worldfloraonline.org. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Saxifraga paradoxa Fragile saxifrage Zahlbrucknera Care Plant Varieties & Pruning Advice". www.shootgardening.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  3. 1 2 3 "Saxifraga paradoxa Sternb". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  4. 1 2 Juvan, Nina (2008). "Vegetacija skalnih razpok silikatnega skalovja : diplomska naloga". repozitorij.uni-lj.si. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  5. "Saxifraga paradoxa Sternb. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  6. 1 2 3 "Saxifraga paradoxa". Alpine Garden Society. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  7. 1 2 3 Praprotnik, Dr Nada. "Deloindom - Kamnokreči: Prvaki rastlinskega sveta". deloindom.delo.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  8. "Pregled organizmov-Nenavadni kamnokreč". www.fito-info.si. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  9. "Vitanje – Gremoven.com" . Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  10. "Lobnica na Pohorju". Gore Ljudje (in Slovenian). Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  11. "Endemische Pflanzen der Ostalpen - Veranstaltung | Naturkundemuseum". www.museum-joanneum.at (in German). Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  12. "Saxifraga paradoxa - Sternb". eunis.eea.europa.eu. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  13. Winkler, Manuela; Tribsch, Andreas; Schneeweiss, Gerald M.; Brodbeck, Sabine; Gugerli, Felix; Holderegger, Rolf; Schönswetter, Peter (2013-10-29). "Strong nuclear differentiation contrasts with widespread sharing of plastid DNA haplotypes across taxa in European purple saxifrages (SaxifragasectionPorphyrionsubsectionOppositifoliae)". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 173 (4): 622–636. doi: 10.1111/boj.12104 . ISSN   0024-4074.
  14. Gerschwitz, Michael; Kadereit, Joachim W. (2020). "Species composition of Saxifraga sect. Saxifraga subsect. Arachnoideae (Saxifragaceae) based on DNA sequence evidence". Willdenowia. 50 (2): 225. doi: 10.3372/wi.50.50208 . ISSN   1868-6397. S2CID   219466780.
  15. Tkach, Natalia; Röser, Martin; Suchan, Tomasz; Cieślak, Elżbieta; Schönswetter, Peter; Ronikier, Michał (2019-01-11). "Contrasting evolutionary origins of two mountain endemics: Saxifraga wahlenbergii (Western Carpathians) and S. styriaca (Eastern Alps)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 19 (1): 18. doi: 10.1186/s12862-019-1355-x . ISSN   1471-2148. PMC   6329101 . PMID   30634910.