Micranthes ferruginea

Rusty hair saxifrage

Family: Saxifragaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Rusty hair saxifrage is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges on wet banks and gravelly areas at elevations of 1,500 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from July to August, this plant produces white flowers with yellow spots at the base of three broad petals, creating a delicate and distinctive appearance. Growing with slender stems 5 to 40 centimeters tall, it develops a thin caudex with short rhizomes and maintains a compact, clustered form. Its leaves are relatively fleshy and obovate, measuring 1.5 to 6 centimeters long, with coarse, sharp-edged teeth that give the plant a distinctive textural quality. The plant's unique flower structure includes three broad, spade-shaped petals and two narrow lanceolate petals, creating an asymmetrical and intriguing botanical profile.

Habitat: Wet banks, gravel

Bloom period: Jul-Aug

Elevation: 1500-2500 m

Bioregions: KR

California counties: Siskiyou, Humboldt, Trinity

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