2. Micranthes nelsoniana (D. Don) Small in N. L. Britton et al., N. Amer. Fl. 22: 147. 1905.
Dotted or Nelson’s saxifrage
Saxifraga nelsoniana D. Don, Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13: 355. 1822; S. punctata Linnaeus subsp. nelsoniana (D. Don) Hultén; S. punctata var. nelsoniana (D. Don) Engler
Plants solitary or tufted, with bulbils on branched caudices, rhizomatous. Leaves basal; petiole rounded, 3-30 cm; blade reniform to round, 2-9 cm, thin or slightly fleshy, sometimes thick and fleshy, base cordate, margins deeply crenate, eciliate or sparsely short glandular-ciliate, surfaces glabrous or ± hairy. Inflorescences 10+-flowered, ± open, lax to congested, conic, sometimes also glomerate thyrses, 10-35 cm, tangled-hairy (pilose-arachnoid) at least distally, sometimes also purple- or brown-tipped stipitate-glandular. Flowers: sepals reflexed, ± ovate; petals white to pinkish, rarely orange-spotted, ovate to oblong, narrowly to broadly clawed, 2.5-4.5 mm, longer than sepals; filaments distinctly club-shaped; pistils connate 1/2-3/4 their lengths; ovary superior (to 1/3 adnate to hypanthium). Capsules green to yellow and purplish tinged to dark purple, valvate.
Varieties 6 (5 in the flora): North America, Europe (ne Russia), Asia.
Although sometimes reported for North America, Saxifraga nelsoniana var. aestivalis (Fischer & C. A. Meyer) H. Ohba (S. aestivalis Fischer & C. A. Meyer) is found only in Eurasia.
