Lithophragma glabrum (Rockstar) - photos and description

 

 

 

 


Bulblets along upper stem

 

 

 


Basal leaf in above photo


Stem leaf in above photo


Bulblet in leaf axil

Lithophragma glabrum

General: Slender plant with small reddish-purple bulblets in leaf axils and along upper stem. Stems red-coloured, pubescent.

Flowers: Flowers 1 to 3 flowers at stem tips, white, each flower with 4 or 5 petals, each petal with 3 lobes. We measured a flower to 13 mm wide.

Leaves: Basal leaves stalked, palmately divided into 5 segments. We measured a basal leaf at 25 mm diameter. Stem leaves 1 to 3 per stem, have short stalks, alternate, divided into 3 segments. Bottom and margins of leaves pubescent.

Height: Budd's Flora lists the height to 20 cm, we measured plants to 22 cm tall.

Habitat: Slopes, edges of streams in the Cypress Hills.

Abundance: Very rare, this plant is ranked as an S2 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.

Origin: Native.

Synonym: Listed in some of the guides we use as Lithophragma bulbifera.

When and where photographed: Photos taken May 23rd, 24th and May 31st, ravine bottom on edge of brook in grassland, Cypress Hills, about 450 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.