Saxifraga


Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 473 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.

Description

Most saxifrages are small perennial, biennial or annual herbaceous plants whose basal or cauline leaves grow close to the ground, often in a rosette. The leaves typically have a more or less incised margin; they may be succulent, needle-like and/or hairy, reducing evaporation.
The inflorescence or single flower clusters rise above the main plant body on naked stalks. The small actinomorphic hermaphrodite flowers have five petals and sepals and are usually white, but red to yellow in some species. Stamens, usually ten, rarely eight, insert at the junction of the floral tube and ovary wall, with filaments subulate or clavate. As in other primitive eudicots, some of the five or ten stamens may appear petal-like. It lives in tundral ecosystems.

Taxonomy

A genus of about 473 species. The former monotypic genus Saxifragella has been submersed within Saxifraga, the largest genus in Saxifragaceae, as Saxifraga bicuspidata. Also, the genus Saxifragopsis was previously included in Saxifraga.

Subdivision

Based on morphological criteria, up to 15 sections were recognised. Subsequent molecular phylogenetic studies reduced this to 13 sections with 9 subsections. The former sections Micranthes and Merkianae are more closely related to the Boykinia and Heuchera clades. Modern floras separate these groups as the genus Micranthes.
The thirteen sections are:
  • Irregulares
  • Saxifragella
  • Pseudocymbalaria
  • Bronchiales
  • Ciliatae
  • Cymbalaria
  • Cotylea
  • Gymnopera
  • Mesogyne
  • Trachyphyllum
  • Ligulatae
  • Porphyrion
  • *Squarrosae
  • *Mutatae
  • *Oppositifoliae
  • *Florulentae
  • *Kabschia
  • Saxifraga
  • *Tridactylites
  • *Androsaceae
  • *Arachnoideae
  • *''Saxifraga''

    Selected species

  • Saxifraga adscendens – ascending saxifrage
  • Saxifraga aizoides – Yellow mountain saxifrage, yellow saxifrage
  • Saxifraga aizoon – Aizoon rockfoil
  • Saxifraga algisii
  • Saxifraga anadyrensis
  • Saxifraga androsacea
  • Saxifraga aquatica
  • Saxifraga arachnoidea
  • Saxifraga × arendsii – mossy saxifrage, mossy rockfoil
  • Saxifraga aspera L. – rough saxifrage, stiff-haired saxifrage
  • Saxifraga bicuspidata
  • Saxifraga biflora
  • Saxifraga bronchialis L. – matte saxifrage
  • Saxifraga bryoides L. – mossy saxifrage
  • Saxifraga burseriana L. – AGM
  • Saxifraga caesia – blue green saxifrage
  • Saxifraga callosa Sm. – limestone saxifrage
  • Saxifraga canaliculata
  • Saxifraga carpatica
  • Saxifraga cernua – drooping saxifrage, nodding saxifrage, bulblet saxifrage
  • Saxifraga cervicornis
  • Saxifraga cespitosa – tufted saxifrage
  • Saxifraga ciliata
  • Saxifraga cochlearis – spoon-leaved saxifrage
  • Saxifraga columnaris Schmalh.
  • Saxifraga corsica
  • Saxifraga consanguinea W.W.Sm.
  • Saxifraga cotyledon L. – great alpine rockfoil, greater evergreen saxifrage
  • Saxifraga crustata Vest. – crusted-leaved saxifraga, silver saxifrage, encrusted saxifrage
  • Saxifraga cuneifolia – shield-leaved saxifrage, lesser London pride
  • Saxifraga cymbalaria – celandine saxifrage
  • Saxifraga decipiens
  • Saxifraga dinnikii Schmalh.
  • Saxifraga eschscholtzii – cushion saxifrage
  • Saxifraga exarata – furrowed saxifrage
  • Saxifraga flagellaris Willd. ex Sternb. – whiplash saxifrage, spider saxifrage, "spider plant"
  • Saxifraga florulenta
  • Saxifraga forbesei
  • Saxifraga fortunei Hook.f. – fortune saxifrage
  • Saxifraga × geum – Robertsoniana saxifrage
  • Saxifraga globulifera – Gibraltar saxifrage
  • Saxifraga granulata L. – meadow saxifrage, bulbous saxifrage, fair maids of France
  • Saxifraga grisebachii - Engleria saxifrage
  • Saxifraga groenlandica
  • Saxifraga hederacea
  • Saxifraga hirculus L. – yellow marsh saxifrage, marsh saxifrage, "bog saxifrage"
  • Saxifraga hirsuta – kidney saxifrage
  • Saxifraga hyperborea – pygmy saxifrage
  • Saxifraga hypnoides – mossy saxifrage, Dovedale moss
  • Saxifraga juniperifolia
  • Saxifraga korshinskii Kom.
  • Saxifraga lactea Turcz.
  • Saxifraga longifolia – Pyrenean saxifrage
  • Saxifraga maderensis – Madeira saxifrage, Madeira breakstone
  • Saxifraga mertensiana – Mertens' saxifrage
  • Saxifraga montana
  • Saxifraga moschata – musky saxifrage, mossy saxifrage
  • *Saxifraga moschata ssp. basaltica
  • Saxifraga muscoides
  • Saxifraga mutata
  • Saxifraga nathorstii Hayek – East Greenland saxifrage
  • Saxifraga nipponica
  • Saxifraga oppositifolia – purple saxifrage, purple mountain saxifrage
  • Saxifraga osloensis Knaben – Oslo saxifrage, a natural hybrid species
  • Saxifraga paniculata – lifelong saxifrage, white mountain saxifrage
  • Saxifraga paradoxa Sternb. – Fragile saxifraga
  • Saxifraga petraea
  • Saxifraga platysepala – broadsepal saxifrage
  • Saxifraga porophylla
  • Saxifraga redofskii – many-flower saxifrage
  • Saxifraga rivularis – alpine brook saxifrage, brook saxifrage, highland saxifrage
  • Saxifraga rosacea – Irish saxifrage
  • Saxifraga rotundifolia L. – round-leaved saxifrage
  • Saxifraga roylei
  • Saxifraga rudolphiana
  • Saxifraga rufopilosa – redhair saxifrage
  • Saxifraga sancta
  • Saxifraga serpyllifolia – thymeleaf saxifrage
  • Saxifraga sibirica – Siberian saxifrage
  • Saxifraga spathularis – Saint Patrick's cabbage
  • Saxifraga squarrosa – Dolomites saxifrage
  • Saxifraga stolonifera – creeping saxifrage, strawberry saxifrage, creeping rockfoil, strawberry begonia, strawberry geranium, Aaron's beard
  • *Saxifraga stolonifera f. aptera H.Hara – hoshizaki-yukinoshita
  • *Saxifraga stolonifera 'Cuscutiformis' – Dodder-like saxifrage
  • Saxifraga subverticillata
  • Saxifraga svalbardensis
  • Saxifraga taygetea
  • Saxifraga taylorii – Taylor's saxifrage
  • Saxifraga tenella
  • Saxifraga tombeanensis
  • Saxifraga tricuspidata Rottb. – prickly saxifrage
  • Saxifraga tridactylites – rue-leaved saxifrage, "nailwort"
  • Saxifraga trifurcata
  • Saxifraga × urbium – London pride
  • Saxifraga umbrosa – Pyrenean saxifrage
  • Saxifraga vandelli
  • ''Saxifraga wahlenbergii''

    Formerly placed here

Plants formerly placed in Saxifraga are mainly but not exclusively Saxifragaceae. They include:
  • Astilboides tabularis, as S. tabularis
  • Bergenia crassifolia, as S. cordifolia, S. crassifolia
  • Bergenia pacumbis, as S. ligulata, S. pacumbis
  • Bergenia purpurascens, as S. delavayi, S. purpurascens
  • Boykinia jamesii, as S. jamesii
  • Boykinia occidentalis, as S. elata
  • Boykinia richardsonii, as S. richardsonii
  • Darmera peltata, as S. peltata
  • Leptarrhena pyrolifolia, as S. pyrolifolia
  • Luetkea pectinata, as S. pectinata
  • Micranthes, including:
  • *Micranthes integrifolia
  • *Micranthes howellii, as S. howellii
  • *Micranthes stellaris, as S. stellaris
  • Mukdenia rossii, as ''S. rossii''

    Other "saxifragous" plants

Several plant genera have names referring to saxifrages, although they might not be close relatives of Saxifraga. They include:
  • Golden-saxifrages, Chrysosplenium
  • Burnet-saxifrages, Pimpinella
  • Pepper-saxifrage, Silaum silaus. The name "silaum" comes from the Latin word sil, which means yellow ochre. This refers to the sulphurous yellow colour of the flowers.
Some plants refer to Saxifraga in their generic names or specific epithets, either because they are also "rock-breaking" or because they resemble members of the saxifrage genus:
  • Campanula saxifraga
  • Celmisia saxifraga W.M.Curtis
  • Cineraria saxifraga DC.
  • Dryopteris saxifraga
  • Petrorhagia saxifraga – Tunicflower
  • Pimpinella saxifraga – Burnet saxifrage
  • Ptychotis saxifraga
  • Saxifragella
  • Saxifragodes
  • Saxifragopsis Small

    Ecology

Saxifrages are typical inhabitants of Arctic–alpine ecosystems, and are hardly ever found outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere; most members of this genus are found in subarctic climates. A good number of species grow in glacial habitats, such as S. biflora which can be found some above sea level in the Alps, or the East Greenland saxifrage. The genus is also abundant in the Eastern and Western Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows. Though the archetypal saxifrage is a small plant huddling between rocks high up on a mountain, many species do not occur in such a habitat and are larger plants found on wet meadows.
Various Saxifraga species are used as food plants by the caterpillars of some butterflies and moths, such as the Phoebus Apollo.
Charles Darwin – erroneously believing Saxifraga to be allied to the sundew family – suspected the sticky-leaved round-leaved saxifrage, rue-leaved saxifrage and Pyrenean saxifrage to be protocarnivorous plants, and conducted some experiments whose results supported his observations, but the matter has apparently not been studied since his time.