Angiosperms: Dicotyledons

Saxifragaceae
Saxifrage Family

• Stem: perennial; with basal leaves and tall flower stalk.
• Leaves: basal; oval, tapering at both ends; blades 8” by 2 1/2”; petioles 1 1/2”, flat, hairy, sheathing the stem at the base; few long hairs above, short below.
• Inflorescence: dense masses of small flowers at the tips of much-branched flower stalks, 1 1/2’ tall; smaller flower masses below on branches from the axils of bracts 1/2” by 1/16”.
• Flowers: petals white, narrow, 1/16” long, alternating with green sepals, 1/32” long on a broad floral tube, 1/8” across; flowering from mid-May to early June.
• Fruits: two divergent seedpods, 1/8” long, sepals reflexed; fruiting begins in late May; during fruiting the flower stalk elongates to 3' and the flowers become less massed.
• Habitat: frequent on wet prairies; also in moist, open woods; very uncommon at the west and south edges of its range in Iowa.
• Bibliography from Biodiversity Heritage Library
• Vascular Plants of Iowa