Saxifraga rosacea, Irish saxifrage, or rosy saxifrage, is a herbaceous plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The epithet rosacea does not refer to its flowers which are white,[1] but to its radical sterile shoots which are often rosy.[2] Owing to this misleading epithet, the rosy-flowered Saxifraga × arendsii is sometimes misidentified as Saxifraga rosacea.
| Saxifraga rosacea | |
|---|---|
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| Saxifraga rosacea photographed at a botanical garden in Iceland in 2010. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Saxifragaceae |
| Genus: | Saxifraga |
| Species: | S. rosacea
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| Binomial name | |
| Saxifraga rosacea | |
It spreads by stolons, forming a compact cushion of short leafy sterile shoots. Flowering stems may be up to 25 cm tall, bearing 4 to 5 white flowers with petals 6-10mm long.[3][4]
It is found in Northwestern and Central Europe.[3][5][6] It was believed to have become extinct in the UK in 1962, but cuttings from original specimens have allowed for its reintroduction in 2024.[7] It is usually found by mountain streams, but also grows on cliffs and scree slopes.[3]
Subspecies
edit- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea: southern and central Germany, eastern France, Ireland, Iceland, and Faroe Islands; extinct in Great Britain.[6]
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. hartii: Arranmore Island.[6]
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. sponhemica: Belgium, Luxembourg, eastern France, western Germany, Czechoslovakia, and southwestern Poland.[6]
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. steinmannii: Czech Republic.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Saxifraga rosacea Moench subsp. rosacea". The National Data and Information Center on the Swiss Flora. Retrieved 2023-11-08.
- ^ Moench, Conrad (1794). Methodus plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis. Vol. v.1. Marburg: Officina Nova Libraria Academiae. p. 106.
- ^ a b c "Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora". brc.ac.uk. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Home". Alpine Garden Society. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Plants of Iceland: Saxifraga rosacea, Irish Saxifrage". iceland-nh.net. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Tutin, T.G.; Burges, N.A.; Chater, A.O.; Edmondson, J.R.; Heywood, V.H.; Moore, D.M.; Valentine, D.H.; Walters, S.M.; Webb, D.A. (1993). Flora Europaea. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 452. ISBN 0-521-41007-X.
- ^ Georgina Rannard (25 May 2024). "Extinct 'mountain jewel' plant returned to wild - in secret location". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Saxifraga rosacea subsp. steinmannii (Tausch) Holub". Plants of the World Online. Kew Science. Retrieved 2023-11-07.