390 Lii. SAXiFEAGACBiE. (C. B. Clarke.) [Sa^fraga. 



Z. SAXXTItAGA, Linn. 



Herbs, mostly small perennials. Eadical leaves often rosulate ; stem leaTss 

 alternate (in Sect. Porphyrion subopposite), exstipnlate, petiole sheathing at base. 

 Flowers corymbose or paniculate or reduced to 3-1 ; white or yellow, rarely red. 

 Cali/x adnate to the ovary at base (rarely free) 5-fid, imbricate. Petals S, peri- 

 gynous. iSamejis 10 (rarely 6) perigynous. Compete 2 (very rarely 3-6) united 

 below, narrowed upwards intp a style, stigma lateral subcapitate; ovules numer- 

 ous, axUe. Pipe Carpels dry, opening at the top ventraUy. Seeds smaU, ellipsoid 

 in Indian species. — Distecb. Species 160, almost all in the Northern Hemi- 

 sphere ; inhabiting cool temper&te, and especially alpine, localities. 



Sect. I. Nephropliylluin. Calyx adnate' to the base of the ovaiy, lobes 

 erect in fruit. Petals white, much exceeding the calyx. /Stems erect leafy. Sa- 

 dical leaves petioled, reniform, lobed. Bracts 2, unequal at base of peduncles. 

 — In the Indian species the surculi are represented by bulbils, covered ■with, ful- 

 vous hairs, forming a cluster at the base of the stem. 



1. S. odontopliylla, S.f. %■ T. in Jowm. lAnn. Soc. ii. 64 ; no bulbils 

 in the upper axils, radical leaves crenate with 7-12 shallow rounded lobes, lobes 

 of stem-leaves often triangidar acute. Wall. Cat. 4S4:, pai-tly. S. asarifolia, 

 Stefi'nb. Saxifrag. Suppl. t. 24. 



Western Temperate Hhhaiata, alt. 10,000 ft.; Kumaon, Blinkworth \ Kulu, 

 Edgeworth ; Gurwhal, Falconer ; Lahul, Jaesckke. 



Laxly viUose, 6-10 in. higH. Flowers Z-6. Upper Zeaues few, sometimes 0. In 

 the ripe fruit the calyx-tube is short campanulate or funnel-shaped ; the lobBS are 

 ovate-linear, approximate, with acute sinuses. — This species bears a general resem- 

 bla,nce to S. granulata, but the calyx ia fruit is very different. It is more difficult to 

 separate it from S. sibirica. Engler (Monog. Saxifrag. 99) has taken Stemb. Saxi- 

 frag. Suppl. t. 25 as the type of S. odontophylla, which should rather be referred to 

 S. sibirica. 



2. S. sibirica, Xmn. ; DC. Prodi: i\. 36 ; no bulbils in' the upper axils, 

 radical leaves with 5-7 acute or oTbtuse lobes, upper stem leaves often simple 

 entire oblong or ovate acute. Sternh. Pee. Saxifrag. t. 25, f. I ; H.f.Sf T. in 

 Jowm. lAnn. Soc. ii. 64 ; Soiss. Fl. Orient, ii. 807 ; Engler Monog. Saxifrag. 

 101. S. odontophylla, JFaB. Cat. AM, partim. 



Western Himaiata and Kashmir, alt. 9000-14,000 ft., frequent ; Eoyle, Fal- 

 coner, T. Thomson, &c. — ^Distrib. From Kashmir to the Caucasus and to the 

 Altai. 



Stem pubescent, 6-8 in high. Flowers 1-10. Calgx-tube in the ripe fruit short, 

 campanulate or funnel-shaped; lobes ovate-linear, sinuses narrow. Seeds ohlong, sub- 

 angular, quite smooth, testa minutely reticulate. Flowers and capsules smaller than 

 those of S. odontophylla. All the Indian specimens referred to S. granulata, Linn, by 

 H.f. ^ T. in Joiwrn. lAnn. Soc. ii. 63 are here reduced to B. sibirica. In the ripe fruit 

 of S. granulata the calyx is divided only about hsilf way down, the tube is hemi- 

 spherical, the lobes are oblong distant with rounded sinuses. 



3. S. cemua, Idnn. ; DC. Prodr. i. 36 ; bulbils in the upper axils, flower 

 often terminal solitary all the lower flowers of the raceme being replaced by 

 sessile purple bulbils, or flowers 2-3 pedieelled. Eng. Sot. t. 664 ; Don in 

 Trans. Linn. Soe. xiii. 364 ; R. f. 8; T. in Joura. Linn. Soc. ii. 63 ; Engler 

 Monog. Saxifrag. 106. 



Western Himaiaya and Western Tibet, alt. 14,000-17,000 ft. ; N. of Ladak, T. 

 Thomson, C. B. ClarJce; Nubia, Stracheiy; Tanglang Pass, Beyde. — Distbie. Alps of 

 Europe, Temperate and Arctic N. America and W, Asia. * • . 'i • 



