214 THE SAXIFRAGA FAMILY, 



THE SAXIFRAGA FAMILY. 



SaxifragacecE. 



A group of trees ^ shrubs^ kerbs and vi?ies with leaves groivmg either 

 fro7n the base, or a/ter?iate, or opposite on the stem a?id which bear perfect 

 or impeffect flowers, solitary, or produced in panicles, or cymes. 



niCHAUX'S SAXIFRAGE. {Plate LXIV.) 

 Saxifraga Michatixii. 



FAMILY COLOUR ODOUR RANGE TIME OF BLOOM 



Saxi/rage. White. Scentless. Georgia to I'irginia. May-Septetnber. 



Flozvers : tiny; irregular; growing abundantly on hairy pedicels in compound 

 panicles. Calyx : of five ovate, persistent sepals. Corolla : with five almost linear, 

 clawed petals, unequal in size, the three larger ones being spotted at the base with 

 yellow. Stamens: ten. Pistil: one. Capsule : two-valved containing many seeds. 

 Basal leaves: growing in a cluster; spatulate, or obovate, rounded at their apices 

 and their bases extending into margined petioles; dentate; very hairy on both sides 

 and at maturity deep red on the lower surfaces. Stet/i leaves, or bracts: almost 

 linear; sessile. Stem: six to twenty inches high; erect; branching; leafy above ; 

 viscid-pubescent. 



From the summit of Satula mountain in western North Carolina one of 

 these dainty plants was brought to me one day while at Highlands. It was 

 about seven inches high, and flecked with many small, yellow-spotted 

 flowers. From it Mrs. Rowan made the accompanying sketch. Later, 

 however, when we went up the mountain we saw many larger ones which 

 grew on sloping banks where often a small stream trickled over them as it 

 came down the mountain side. Their leaves had then nearly all turned to a 

 deep wine colour, and many were in fruit. Along Buzzard's Rock, an eerie 

 place where comparatively few strangers find their way we also found these 

 wildings thriving lustily amid rocks and streams. The genus with its many 

 sprightly members has long been reported to be possessed of medicinal 

 properties. 



S. Grayd7ia, Gray's saxifrage, as it arises from its corm-like rootstock, 

 much resembles the preceding species of Michaux. Its basal leaves, how- 

 ever, are broader, being oval, or nearly orbicular, while in the same way 

 they taper into margined petioles. Another marked difference between the 

 two is that the petals of Gray's saxifrage are all alike instead of being irreg- 

 ular as those of the other. On the stems also, only bracts, not leaves are 

 produced. In rocky places, especially through the mountains of Virginia 

 and North Carolina it blooms through June and July. 



