36 SAXIFRAGES— SAXIFRAGE TRIBE 



capsule inferior. Plant annual. This little Saxifrage has small snowy-white 

 flowers from April to July, on a stem two or thi-ee inches in height. It is 

 xery common on old walls, dry barren heaths, and the roofs of cottages in 

 England, but it is rare in the west of Scotland and in the Hi2:hlands. The 

 petals are so small as hardly to extend beyond the calyx. The foliage is of 

 a rich green, turning red after flowering. It is thickly set with short hairs, 

 terminated with red globules, which render it very clammy to the touch. It 

 is a very elegant little plant. 



11. Alpine Brook Saxifrage (S. rivuldris). — Leaves 3 — 5 lobed, 

 jjalmated, smooth, stalked ; stem slender, branched, downy ; flowers few ; 

 bracts oblong ; capsule half inferior. This is a very scarce perennial species, 

 found in Scotland on moist rocks near the summits of Ben Lawers and Ben 

 Nevis, but not in abundance. The only spot where it is known to occur 

 ]ilentifully is on Loch-na-gar, Aberdeenshire. It grows in tufts ; the stems, 

 partly leaning on the ground before they rise into the air, root w^here they 

 touch. The flowers are white, and appear in July and August. 



12. Mossy Saxifrage (>S'. hypnoides). — Barren shoots long, and usually 

 ])rostrate ; root-leaves 3-cleft, those of the shoots either undivided or 3-cleft, 

 l)ristle-pointed, and more or less fringed; segments of the calyx pointed. 

 Plant perennial. This is an abundant and most variable species, its leaves 

 assuming so many forms that the varieties have been described as species 

 under several names, and as such several are figured in our Plate 87. The 

 flowers are white, expanding from May to July, on rocky mountainous 

 situations in England, Scotland, and Ireland. >S^, platypefala, S. elongella, 

 S. hirfa, and S. palmafa may be considered as varieties of this species. 



13. Tufted Alpine Saxifrage (S. cwspifusa). — Barren shoots usuall}'- 

 very short or wanting ; root-leaves crowded, fringed, 3 — 5 cleft, with obtuse 

 lobes; calyx segments blunt. In one variety the plant is larger, and in 

 another smaller, but both without barren shoots. In this lare species the 

 white flowers expand from May to July. It grows on the summits of Irish, 

 Scottish, and Welsh mountains, and is probably but an extreme form of the 

 variable Mossy Saxifrage, and, like that, it has a perennial root-stock. 



14. Mossy Alpine Saxifrage (»S^. mnsroides). — Barren shoots very 

 short, erect ; root-leaves linear, blunt, and 3-cleft ; stem few-flowered ; calyx 

 superior ; petals short, scarcely longer than the sepals. Perennial, This 

 plant, Avhich was said by Don to have been found in the Highlands of 

 Scotland, is not a native. It has buff"-coloured petals, expanding in May. 



15. Geranium Saxifrage (»S'. geranokies). — Barren shoots short; leaves 

 downy and glandular, lower ones, and those of the shoots, on very long foot- 

 stalks, deeply 3-cleft, the segments either cut or entire; calyx superior. 

 Plant perennial. This Saxifrage is said to have been found on the Scottish 

 mountains many years ago, but the record has not been authenticated. 



2. Golden Saxifrage {ChrysospUnium). 



1, Common Golden Saxifrage (C opposififdlium). — Leaves ojjposite, 

 ro\xndish, heart-shaped, with rounded notches ; flowers in small umbels. 

 Plant perennial. This plant, which flowers from May to July, is common 

 by the sides of rivulets, and in wet woods. It is also frequent on some of 



