Micranthes californica

Greene's saxifrage

Family: Saxifragaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Greene's saxifrage is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, California Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Great Valley, central western, and southwestern California in moist, shady places at elevations below 1,200 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces small white flowers with elliptic petals 2.5 to 4.5 millimeters long arranged in often one-sided, open inflorescences. Growing 15 to 35 centimeters tall with a distinctive caudex featuring long slender rhizomes and bulblets, it develops erect stems with delicate growth characteristics. Its leaves are ovate, 4 to 10 centimeters long with shallow teeth that are either round or sharp, and supported by petioles 2 to 5 centimeters in length. Its fruit develops as two distinctive follicles with partially inferior ovaries.

Habitat: Moist, shady places

Bloom period: Feb-May(Jun)

Elevation: < 1200 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRO, NCoRI, CaRF, SN (expected Teh), GV (Sutter to Stanislaus cos.), CW, SW

California counties: Humboldt, Butte, Tulare, Kern, Sonoma, Los Angeles, Marin, Monterey, San Mateo, Alpine, Amador, Glenn, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Shasta, Sierra, Plumas, Siskiyou, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Ventura, Alameda, Mendocino, Calaveras, El Dorado, Fresno, Lake, Mariposa, Merced, Napa, Nevada, Placer, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Trinity, Tuolumne, Colusa, Sacramento, Contra Costa, Riverside, San Diego, Madera, Yolo, Yuba, Orange

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