Micranthes occidentalis (Rhomboid-leaved Saxifrage) - photos and description
General: One to several flowering stems from basal rosettes. The flowering stems are stiff, green or red in colour, and pubescent. Spring plants, they are early flowering and their foliage withers away by mid-summer.
Flowers: White flowers in dense panicles, flowers measured to 7 mm diameter.
Leaves: The leaves are basal, deltoid, fleshy, and have wavy margins. Leaf margins with small hairs. We measured a leaf blade at 30 mm long and 22 mm wide.
Height: Budd's Flora lists the height to 20 cm, we measured plants to 23 cm tall.
Habitat: Moist meadows and slopes in the Cypress Hills.
Abundance: Extremely rare, this plant is ranked as an S1 (as of 2021) by the Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Saxifraga occidentalis.
When and where photographed: Photos taken May 23rd, 24th, and May 31st in meadows along stony stream beds, ~ 3900 feet elevation, Cypress Hills, 425 km southwest of Regina, SK, and May 23rd, June 18th on a shady, mossy cliff, Cypress Hills about 425 km southwest of our home in Regina, SK.