Saxifraga cespitosa (Tufted alpine saxifrage)

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Saxifraga cespitosa L.

Tufted alpine saxifrage, tufted saxifrage

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Rosales	Rose family and eight others
Family	Saxifragaceae	Saxifrage family; means “stone-breaking”
Genus	Saxifraga	From Latin saxum, “a rock,” and frango, “to break,” because they appear to enlarge rock crevices from which they grow
Species	cespitosa

About plant names...

Tufted alpine saxifrage ekes out a living on ledges and sandy or gravelly areas in alpine habitats.

Plants: Like many alpine species, plants are compact and densely tufted above ground, with short roots below ground. Plants may consist of single tufts or tussocks with many.

Leaves: Leaves are alternate, often dead or withered, ¼-½″ (8-15 mm) × ⅛-3/16″ (4-6 mm), covered with short white hairs tipped with red glands. They are green, red, or purple; and may also appear yellow or orange due to rust fungus (Melampsora epitea).

Flowers: Flowers are white (sometimes reddish or yellowish), with five symmetric sepals or petals, about ¼″ (6.3 mm) in diameter. A stem is 1¾-4″ (5-10 cm) in height, almost leafless, and may contain a single flower, or a cyme of 2-5. Each flower has ten stamens. Flowers appears from July-August.

Fruits: Two-parted capsules with many seeds.

Online References:

Svalbardflora.no

Luontoportti.com

The USDA Plants Database

Wikipedia

The Jepson Manual

Species.nbnatlas.org

Saxifraga cespitosa description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

6/19/2019 · Westfjords Region, Iceland · By John W. Kent