120 SAXIFRAGACEAE 



Middlotown, Lake Co., Mason 2767; Buck Mt., Humboldt Co., Tracy 4178; Trinity Summit, Davy 

 4- BUisdalc 5S15; Marble Mt., Chandler 1(175; Edpowood, Siskiyou Co., J. TV. Kisling. 



Kofa. — Saxikkaoa nuhkii'a Greene, Erytliea 1:'J22 (ISiCJ), typo loc. bigh Sierra Nevada, 

 Greene, probably near Summit sta., Donner Pass, since this is the only high Sierran region visited 

 by Greene; Jepson, Man. 45C (1929). Micranthcs nidifica Small, N, Am. Fl. 22:134 (1905). 



4. S. fallax (^rocno. Slidi; Saxifuaoe. Plants G to 13 inclics hi«i:h. rosombling 

 S. niditii'a very elosoly but the inflorescence more open, the branches of tlie panicle 

 14 to 2 inches long, and the flowers smaller. 



Montane, on cool shady slopes, 5000 to 7500 feet : Fresno Co. to Lassen Peak. 

 July. This species grows at somewhat lower altitudes than S. nidifica in the Sierra 

 Nevada but differs only slighth' from it. 



Locs. — Bald Mt., Dinkey Creek, Fresno Co., Hall ^ Chandler 386; Eagle Peak, Yosemite, 

 Chcsnut tf- Drew ; Snow Creek trail, Yosemite, Jepson 4383. 



Refs. — Sajcifraoa fallax Greene, Bull. Torr. Club 23:25 (1896), based on spms. from 

 Lassen Peak, E. M. Austin, and Summit sta. (above Donner Lake), Greene. Micranthes fallax 

 Small, N. Am. Fl. 22:141 (1905). S. mrginiensis var. californica Hall, Yos. Fl. 117 (1912) not 

 S. californica Greene. <S. californica var. nidifica Engl. & Irm. ; Engler, Pflzr. 4"':44 (1916). 



5. S. californica Greene. California Saxifrage, Scape 6 to 11 inches high, 

 thinly pubescent with gland-tipped hairs; leaf -blades ovate to elliptic, rather spar- 

 ingly denticulate to strongly serrate, somewhat undulate, V2 to 2 inches long, 

 thinly pilose above, usually pilose-ciliate, the under side glabrous, borne on petioles 

 commonly V2 to as long; panicle open; lobes of the calyx ovate, becoming reflexed 

 in late anthesis or in fruit; petals elliptic or obovate, l^^ to 2 lines long; filaments 

 not dilated; carpels almost distinct. 



Shaded rocky moist places in the low hills and valleys, 50 to 2500 feet : coastal 

 Southern California (but rare) ; Coast Ranges from San Luis Obispo Co. to Hum- 

 boldt Co.; Sacramento Valley; Sierra Nevada from Tuolumne Co. to Placer Co. 

 Mar.-June. 



The most important point of difference between the Californian plant and S. virginiensis of 

 the Atlantic coast is held to reside in the reflexed calyx-lobes of the former and the erect calyx- 

 lobes of the latter. Californian plants in full anthesis often have erect calyx-lobes (Vaca Mts., 

 Jepson 13,477) which do not become reflexed until after early anthesis or in fruit. The mature 

 carpels are often quite as diverging in Californian plants as in those of the Atlantic states. 

 E. L. Greene (Pitt. 1:286) stressed the importance of the tubers which are developed on the ends 

 of filiform runners in S. californica as a differentiating character. These slender stolons are 

 significant structures biologically, although but few collectors have taken the trouble to demon- 

 strate them in their specimens. Small says (Bull. Torr. Club 23:363) that they are likewise 

 present in S. virginiensis Michx. While S. californica is here given specific rank, it is held to 

 be closely allied to S. virginiensis. At one tiine (Proe. Am. Acad. 20:11) our Californian plant 

 was referred to S. reflexa Hook. (Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 249, t. 85 — 1834), but this is an arctic species 

 with the filaments commonly dilated upward. S. californica, on the contrary, has narrowly linear 

 filaments and is distinctly a species of the Californian lowlands. 



The upper surface of the leaf bears weak shortly jointed hairs which are scattered but rather 

 conspicuous, not straight but uniform in structure, though sometimes very scanty in number. 

 The under side of the leaf is usually glabrous. The petiole varies markedly in length; sometimes 

 as long as the blade, sometimes 14 as long, it is perhaps more commonly ^2 as long, though it may 

 vary widely in one collection. In some plants of the middle Coast Eange hilltops the petiole is 

 often very short or scarcely obvious. Plants of such habitats incline to have calyx-lobes of a 

 deeper red than usual. 



Locs. — S. Cal. : San Diego, W. S. Wright 13; Eeche Canon, Colton, Parish; Arroyo Seeo, 

 Los Angeles (Erythea 2:79) ; Eattlesnake Caiion, Santa Barbara, Jepson 9124. Coast Eanges: 

 Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo Co., Alice King; Little Sur, Monterey coast, Davy 7376; Loma 

 Prieta, Davy 423; Isabel Creek, Mt. Hamilton Range, Chandler 6034; Mt. Tamalpais, Greene; 

 Fish Ranch, Berkeley Hills, Chandler 565; Laundry Farm, Oakland Hills, Davy; Mt. Diablo, 

 E. W. Hicks 107; Vaca Mts., Jepson 13,477; Atlas, Napa Range, Mary Ferguson 211; Hoods 

 Peak, e. Sonoma Co., Bioletti; Calistoga Pinnacles, Jepson 13,478; Skaggs Sprs., Sonoma Co., 

 Henry Edxoards; Cazadero, Davy 1663; Cold Creek, Kelseyville, Hardin Irwin 25; Ukiah, Purdy; 

 Potter Valley, Mendocino Co., Nettie Purpus ; Kneeland Prairie, Humboldt Co., Tracy 4063, 

 Sierra Nevada: Columbia, A. L. Grant 604; Kyburz, South Fork American River, Francis Eama- 

 ley 11,286; Salmon Falls, Eldorado Co., Jepson 15,758; Auburn, M. S. Baker; Newcastle, Placer 

 Co., Sonne 4267, Sacramento Valley: Fair Oaks, M. S. Baker; Marysville Buttes, Jepson. 



