Saxifraga cernua
Saxifraga cernua, the drooping saxifrage, nodding saxifrage or bulblet saxifrage, is a flower common all over the High Arctic. It stretches further south in mountainous areas of the Alps, Norway, Iceland, Siberia and Alaska.
| Saxifraga cernua | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Saxifragaceae |
| Genus: | Saxifraga |
| Species: | S. cernua |
| Binomial name | |
| Saxifraga cernua | |
It grows to 10–20 cm tall and the stem has 3–7 leaves. The basal and lower stern leaves are kidney-shaped, 3–5 lobed on long petioles. The flowers are mostly single and terminal. Petals are white and are much longer than the sepals. The plant reproduces by means of brownish-red bulbils in the axils of the upper stem leaves. Flowers bloom June to August.[1]
This plant grows in moist sandy and mossy places, on ledges and in snow beds.[2]
It became a protected species in the UK in 1975 under the Conservation of Wild Creatures and Wild Plants Act.[3]
References
