268 



SAXIFR AG ACEJE . 



gynous. Calyx 5-lobed or -cleft. Petals 5. Stamens in ours definite, 

 5 or 10 (or sometimes variable in Whipplea). Ovary superior or 

 more or less adherent to the calyx, 2 to 5 (or 7)-celled, the stigmas 

 as many as the cells or placentse, the latter either parietal or axile. 

 Fruit a capsule, follicle, or berry. 



Herbs; fruit a capsule or follicle; leaves alternate. 

 Ovary 2 (or 3)-celled with axile placenta?, or of 2 or 3 nearly distinct 

 carpels; petals 5. 



Stamens 10 1. Saxifraga. 



Stamens 5 2. Boykinia. 



Ovary 1-celled, with 2 or 3 parietal placenta? alternate with the styles or 

 stigmas. 



Stamens 10, not exserted; petals mostly cleft or toothed; styles 2 or 3, 



very short 3. Tellima. 



Stamens 10, filiform, exserted, as also the 2 styles; petals inconspicuous, 



almost filiform 4. Tiarella. 



Stamens 5; styles 2, little exserted; petals entire, small . . 5. Heuchera. 

 Ovary 1-celled with 3 or 4 parietal placenta? opposite as many sessile 

 stigmas; cluster of united sterile filaments alternate with the stamens, 

 i. e., at the base of the petals; sepals, petals and fertile stamens 5; 

 flower solitary on a scape-like penduncle, showy . . . . 6. Parnassia. 

 Low trailing shrub; leaves opposite; stamens mostly 10; ovary about % 



free, 3 to 5-celled, becoming a capsule 7. Whipplea. 



Shrubs; leaves alternate; stamens 5 or 4; ovary wholly inferior, 1-celled, 

 in fruit a berry 8. Ribes. 



1. SAXIFRAGA L. Saxifrage. 

 Perennial herbs, with the radical leaves clustered, either acaulescent 

 or short-stemmed. Calyx either free from or cohering with the base 

 of the ovary, 5-cleft or -parted. Petals 5, entire, deciduous. Sta- 

 mens 10. Styles 2. Capsule 2-beaked, 2-celled, opening down or 

 between the beaks, or sometimes the fruit consists of 2 nearly separate 

 follicles. Seeds numerous. (Latin saxum, a rock, and frango, to 

 break.) 



Leaves not cordate, longer than petiole; filaments usually not dilated: var. 



Californica of 1. S. Virginiensis. 



Leaves cordate, the petiole commonly 1 to 3 times as long; filaments dilated 



toward apex 2. S. Mertcnsiana. 



1. S. Virginiensis Michx. var. Californica. Acaulescent; pubes- 

 cent with scattered hairs, those toward summit of scape distinctly 

 gland-tipped; leaves elliptic, rather coarsely serrate, somewhat undu- 

 late, £ to 2 in. long, longer than the broad petiole or nearly sessile; 

 flowers white; lobes of the calyx ovate, reflexed; petals orbicular or 

 often emarginate, 1£ lines long; anthers red, filaments not dilated; 

 ovary half coherent with the calyx, the 2 carpels almost distinct. — (S. 

 Californica Greene.) 



Hill country, mostly in the neighborhood of rocky places: Coast 

 Ranges and Sierras. Mar. -Apr. 



2. S. Mertensiana Bong. Acaulescent, villous-hirsute, the hairs 

 tipped with red glands; leaves orbicular-cordate, £ to 3} in. broad, 

 crenately toothed or shallowly incised; petioles long (1 to 7 in.); 

 scape bearing a panicle of white flowers with lanceolate bracts; calyx 

 segments nearly distinct; petals ovate-oblong, 2 lines long; anthers 



