Micranthes aprica

Sierra saxifrage

Family: Saxifragaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra saxifrage is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada Mountains in rocky, wet alpine meadows and vernally moist flats at elevations of 1,600 to 3,600 meters. Flowering from May to August, this plant produces small white flowers in compact clusters with petals 1.8 to 3 millimeters long. Growing as a diminutive plant just 5 to 7 centimeters tall, it features a distinctive caudex that typically produces small bulblets. Its leaves are obovate to elliptic, measuring 10 to 45 millimeters long, with petioles 5 to 15 millimeters and edges that are entire or minutely toothed toward the leaf tip. The plant produces two partially inferior ovaries that develop into follicles, reflecting its unique alpine adaptation.

Habitat: Rocky, wet alpine meadows, vernally moist flats

Bloom period: May-Aug

Elevation: 1600-3600 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH

California counties: Mono, Alpine, Butte, Lassen, Mariposa, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Trinity, El Dorado, Fresno, Inyo, Madera, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Tulare, Tuolumne, Tehama

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.