Plant: perennial herb Leaves: all basal; blades ovate to rhombic, 1-4 cm long, the base attenuate, the margin usually serrate-serrulate; petiole 1-4 cm long, flattened INFLORESCENCE: 3-30 cm tall, condensed into 1-3 (-7) glomerules, sometimes more open, covered with pale yellow-tipped, glandular hairs Flowers: more than 10; sepals erect, ovate, sometimes purple-tipped; petals 2-4 mm long, longer than sepals, elliptic to slightly obovate; filaments lanceolate; ovary at least half inferior in flower, more superior in fruit; nectaries disk-like Fruit: FRUITS 2(-3) valved; SEEDS smooth to ridged Misc: Alpine and subalpine meadows; above 1500 m (5000 ft); Apr-Aug Notes: CAUDEX simple, sometimes branched; bulblets 0 REFERENCES: Elvander, Patrick. 1992. Saxifragaceae. Ariz.-Nev. Acad. Sci. 26(1)2.
General: Perennial, 2-30 cm tall; plants scapose, the flowering stem usually solitary, densely glandular-pubescent above; caudex simple, sometimes branched. Leaves: Basal, ovate-rhombic to lance-elliptic, 0.5-5.5 cm long, 0.3-3.4 cm wide, thick, usually glabrous above, pubescent with long, intertwined hairs beneath, margins serrate to crenate-dentate, densely ciliate, base attenuate; petiole 0.5-4.5 cm long. Flowers: Inflorescence a raceme, 3-9 flowered, finely glandular- pubescent; pedicels 0.5-4 mm long; hypanthium campanulate or hemispheric, 2-4.4 mm long; sepals 5, triangular, 0.5- 1.2 mm long; petals 5, ovate in outline, 3-8.5 mm long, palmately 5-7 lobed, the sinuses between the segments rather deep, narrowed to a claw, white or pink; styles and stigmas slightly exserted in fruit; flowers April- June. Fruits: Capsule, 3-4.5 mm long, dark violet; seeds numerous, ellipsoid, less than 1 mm long. Ecology: Meadows, seeps, lake margins, streambanks, melting snowbanks; 1700-3700 m (5500-12000 ft); Apache, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Navajo, and Yavapai counties; western and southwestern U.S. Notes: Saxifraga odontoloma (brook saxifrage) [=S. arguta] has scapes mostly 20-65 cm tall; leaves are all basal, kidney-shaped, cordate-orbicular, or fan-shaped, 1.5-9 cm long, 1.5-10 cm wide, margins coarsely crenate to crenate-dentate, the teeth often mucronate; inflorescence is a cyme-like panicle, open, spreading, more than 10- flowered; sepals are reflexed, green to dark red or purplish; petals are orbicular to broadly elliptic, white. It occurs in meadows, on ledges, and in wet habitats. Saxifraga flagellaris (spider-legged saxifrage) has basal and cauline leaves, these oblanceolate to narrowly spatulate, 0.6-2 cm long, 1.5-5 mm wide, margins entire, glandular-ciliate; inflorescence is 1-5 flowered, the petals yellow. It occurs in alpine meadows and on rocky slopes. Saxifraga caespitosa (tufted saxifrage) is loosely to densely tufted; leaves are mostly crowded in a basal rosette, the blades obovate, 4-16 mm long, the base wedge-shaped, gradually tapering to an indistinct petiolar base, apex 3-lobed; cyme is 1-5 flowered, with white to occasionally yellowish flowers. It occurs in similar habitats as S. flagellaris. Saxifraga rivularis (alpine brook saxifrage) [=S. debilis] is distinguished by its delicate, slender habit; leaves are kidney-shaped to nearly orbicular, 2.5-14 mm long, 3-21 mm wide, distinctly petiolate, mostly 5-lobed; inflorescence is raceme-like, 1-5 flowered, the petals white, sometimes with pinkish veins. It occurs in moist, shaded habitats, often in crevices, on rock ledges, and under boulders and overhangs. Editor: Springer et al. 2008