SAXIFRAGACEAE – SAXIFRAGE FAMILY Plant: mostly herbs, sometimes shrubs or trees Stem: Root: Leaves: mostly basal or alternate, or sometimes opposite or almost anything else; no stipules Flowers: mostly perfect; sepals mostly 5 (3-10); petals usually same number as sepals, often clawed, or petals may be absent; stamens 5 or 10; ovary superior or inferior, 2-3 styles, few to many ovules Fruit: pod, capsule or berry, seeds numerous Other: complex group with many genera; related to the Rose family, seeds differ; Dicotyledons Group Genera: 30+ genera; locally Heuchera (alum-root), Saxifraga WARNING – family descriptions are only a layman’s guide and should not be used as definitive Flower Morphology in the Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) 5 petals and sepals, leaves mostly basal; complex group Two-Leaved Mitrewort [Bishop’s-Cap] [Eastern] Swamp Saxifrage [Common, American] Alumroot SAXIFRAGACEAE – SAXIFRAGE FAMILY [Common, American] Alumroot; Heuchera americana L. var. hirsuticaulis (Wheelock) Rosend., Butters & Lakela Bracted Alumroot; Heuchera bracteata (Torr.) Ser. Littleleaf Alumroot; Heuchera parvifolia Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray Littleflower Alumroot; Heuchera parviflora Bartlett var. puberula (Mack. & Bush) E.F. Wells Richardson's Alumroot; Heuchera richardsonii R. Br. Two-Leaved Mitrewort [Bishop’s-Cap]; Mitella diphylla L. Fen [American] Grass of Parnassus; Parnassia glauca Raf. Brook Saxifrage; Saxifraga odontoloma Piper Palmer's Saxifrage; Saxifraga palmeri Bush [Eastern] Swamp Saxifrage; Saxifraga pensylvanica L. Diamondleaf [Snowball] Saxifrage; Saxifraga rhomboidea Greene Weak Saxifrage; Saxifraga rivularis L. Early Saxifrage; Saxifraga virginiensis Michx. var. virginiensis Sullivant's Coolwort [Sullivantia]; Sullivantia sullivantii (Torr. & A. Gray) Britton Heartleaf Foamflower [False Miterwort]; Tiarella cordifolia L. [Common, American] Alumroot USDA Heuchera americana L. var. hirsuticaulis (Wheelock) Rosend., Butters & Lakela Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 5-petaled (symmetrical) flower, not solitary, greenish or white, calyx symmetrical; 5 stamens with orange anthers, stamens strongly exerted; mostly basal leaves on long hairy petioles, cordate with many blunt lobes, dark green veins, stem leaves or not; stem with dense long hairs; woods; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2005] Bracted Alumroot USDA Heuchera bracteata (Torr.) Ser. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Notes: 5-petaled small flower, funnel-shaped, whiteish to greenish yellow, stamens and styles exerted, crowded on spike (often secund); leaves mostly basal on long stalks, ovate to renniform, coarsely toothed (apex usually mucronate); plant finely hairy; montane to subalpine environments; summer [V Max Brown, 2012] Littleleaf Alumroot USDA Heuchera parvifolia Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Near Fraser, Grand County, Colorado Notes: 5-petaled small flower, funnel-shaped, white, greenish yellow sepals spaced between larger ovate to elliptical petals; leaves mostly basal on long stalks, cordate with many blunt lobes (mucronulate); plant finely hairy; montane to alpine environment; summer (several varieties) [V Max Brown, 2012] Littleflower Alumroot USDA Heuchera parviflora Bartlett var. puberula (Mack. & Bush) E.F. Wells Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Alley Springs, Ozark National Riverways, Shannon County, Missouri Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, densely hairy (not glandular); leaves basal on petioles, cordate with many blunt lobes (mucronulate), very soft hairy above and below, leaf surface reddish-purple below; stem with dense glandular hairs; often on N or E facing bluffs; early to late fall (H. villosa similar, all hairs glandular) [V Max Brown, 2010] Richardson's Alumroot USDA Heuchera richardsonii R. Br. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Wah-Kon-Tah Prairie, St Clair County, Missouri Notes: 5-petaled (symmetrical) flower, not solitary, greenish or white, green calyx asymmetrical; 5 stamens with orange anthers, stamens strongly exerted; mostly basal leaves on long hairy petioles, cordate with many blunt lobes; stem with dense long hairs; woods; spring to summer [V Max Brown, 2013] Two-Leaved Mitrewort [Bishop’s-Cap] USDA Mitella diphylla L. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Goll Woods State Nature Preserve, Fulton County, Ohio Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, deeply fringed; 1 pair of stem leaves (exceptions occur), 3-5 lobed, nearly sessile with acute tip, basal leaves 3-5 lobed with long petioles; stem with fine hairs; spring to early summer [V Max Brown, 2006] Fen [American] Grass of USDA Parnassus Parnassia glauca Raf. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Goose Creek Grasslands, Lenawee County, Michigan Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, usually with green veins; all leaves cordate and entire, usually 1 sessile stem leaf and a rosette of basal leaves; stem glabrous; fens, swamps and wet limy meadows; summer to fall [V Max Brown, 2009] Brook Saxifrage USDA Saxifraga odontoloma Piper Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Notes: 5-petaled white deeply clawed flower, deep red sepals reflexed; inflorescence branching; basal leaves reniform, cordate base, with rounded (slightly pointed) lobes (or teeth), mostly glabrous; montane to alpine environments; summer [V Max Brown, 2012] Palmer's Saxifrage USDA Saxifraga palmeri Bush Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Heber Springs, Cleburne County, Arkansas Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, on a long very hairy scape; leaves mostly basal, mostly entire, hairy, somewhat thick and fleshy, leaf blade oval to deltoid and narrowing to a short petiole, mostly entire; woods, low plant; spring [V Max Brown, 2010] [Eastern] Swamp Saxifrage USDA Saxifraga pensylvanica L. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Oak Openings Metropark, Lucas County, Ohio Notes: 5-petaled flower, greenish-white, white to rarely purple, not dotted; leaves basal and lanceolate, entire or only slightly toothed, relatively long with larger leaves 15cm+, no stem leaves or stipules usually; stem stout and with dense hairs; swamps or wet ground; spring to early summer [V Max Brown, 2005] Diamondleaf [Snowball] USDA Saxifrage Saxifraga rhomboidea Greene Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Notes: 5-petaled white flower, sepals light green, inflorescence a tightly packed cluster; basal leaves ovate-lanceolate, base truncates to short wide petiole (almost sessile), mostly glabrous, purple blotched below; stem densely short hairy; montane to alpine environments; summer [V Max Brown, 2012] Weak Saxifrage USDA Saxifraga rivularis L. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado Notes: 5-petaled flower, flared lobes, whitish, sepals reddish tipped and hairy; flower on long pedicels leaves mostly basal on long stalks, ovate to renniform, cordate base, coarsely lobed (or crenate toothed); plant finely hairy; montane to alpine environments; summer [V Max Brown, 2012] Early Saxifrage USDA Saxifraga virginiensis Michx. var. virginiensis Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Pickle Springs Natural Area, St. Genevieve County, Missouri Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, on a long very hairy scape; leaves basal, hairy, somewhat thick and fleshy, leaf blade oval to deltoid and narrowing to a short petiole, with crenate teeth often forming a scalloped edge look; bluffs and rock outcrops in woods, often 30-40+ cm in height; spring [V Max Brown, 2012] Sullivant's Coolwort [Sullivantia] USDA Sullivantia sullivantii (Torr. & A. Gray) Britton Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Davis Memorial Nature Preserve, Adams County, Ohio Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, very small, deeply fringed, inflorescence branching, with glandular hairs; mostly basal leaves, reniform to ovate, numerous lobes with 2-3 teeth each, mostly glabrous; mostly on wet, shaded cliffs; summer [V Max Brown, 2009] Heartleaf Foamflower [False Miterwort] USDA Tiarella cordifolia L. Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family) Shawnee State Forest, Scioto County, Ohio Notes: 5-petaled flower, white, stamens protruding, on a crowded spike on a long scape; leaves mostly basal, cordate, with 5 to 7 toothed lobes; stem stout and with dense hairs; woods; spring [V Max Brown, 2009].