SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. Saxifragaceae. 



SAXIFRAGE FAMILY. Saxifragacece. 



A large family of herbs or shrubs related to the family 

 Rosacece, but differing from it by having albumen in the 

 seeds, and opposite as well as alternate leaves. The 

 flowers are mostly perfect with usually five petals, 

 fertilized by the aid of the smaller bees, and the flies 

 (Syrphidce), or in some instances butterflies. 



A little plant hugging the rocks on dry 

 " hillsides and blooming along with the 



Saxifraga first flowers of spring; the buds are formed 

 Virginiensis early, and appear like little (fine-haired) 

 White balls in the centre of the rosettelike 



April-May 



clusters of obovate leaves close to the 

 ground. Eventually a cluster expands to a branching 

 downy stem bearing many little white, five-petaled, 

 perfect flowers with ten yellow stamens. The flowers 

 are succeeded by rather odd and pretty madder purple 

 seed-vessels which are two-beaked ; often the color is 

 madder brown. Besides some of the earlier bees, the 

 Antiopa butterfly (rusty black with a corn color bor- 

 der) and the tortoise-shell butterfly (brown and tan) 

 may be included as among the frequent visitors of the 

 flower ; but whether they play any important part in 

 the process of fertilization, it is difficult to say. 4-10 

 inches high. Me. , south to Ga. , and west to Minn. 

 S am Saxi- ^ much larger plant with less attractive, 

 frage greenish white flowers with very narrow 



Saxifraga (linear) petals. The stem is somewhat 

 Pennsylvania sticky-hairy and stout. The larger blunt 

 Greenish white lance . shaped leaves are sca rcely toothed, 



and are narrowed to a rather broad stem. 

 12-30 inches high. In bogs and on wet banks from 

 Me., south to Ya., and west to Minn, and Iowa. The 

 name saxifrage is from Saxifragus, meaning a rock or 

 stone breaker! but it is far from evident that the plant's 

 roots, in spreading between the crevices of rocks, succeed 

 in breaking stone by vigorous growing ; the name may 

 as well be referred to reputed medicinal virtues of the 

 roots. 



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