SAXIFRAGACE^— SAXIFRAGE FAMILY 



EARLY SAXIFRAGE 



Saxifraga Virginiensis 



Name from saxum, a rock, and frango, to break, referring 

 to the habit of several species of growing upon rocks. 



Perennial. Exposed rocks and dry hillsides. New 

 Brunswick, Ontario, and Minnesota, south to Georgia 

 and Tennessee. Common in northern Ohio. March-May. 



Stem. — Four to twelve inches high, naked, with sticky 

 hairs. 



Leaves. — Rather thick, obovate, or spatulate, dentate 

 or crenate, with margined petioles; basal leaves clustered. 



Flowers. — White, small, clustered, spreading into a 

 loose panicle. 



Calyx. — Five-cleft; tube free from the ovary. 



Corolla. — Of five petals. 



Stamens. — Ten, inserted with the petals. 



Pistil. — One, with two styles. 



Fruit. — Purphsh-brown pods, many-seeded; seeds small. 



Pollinated by flies and bees. Nectar-bearing. Anthers 

 mature before the stigma. 



In the chosen haunts of the Early Saxifrage, by the 

 middle of April, the ground is literally covered with 

 little green rosettes of thick, obovate leaves, and right 

 in the centre are the clustered buds of the coming 

 flowers. As soon as the w-hite petals show themselves 



113 



