SAXIFRAGA RIVULARIS. ALPINE BROOK
SAXIFRAGE.
SAXIFRAGA rivularis; foliis tri- ad quinque- lobo-palmatis.glabris longe petiolatis, caule gracili
ramoso pubescente, ramis paucifloris, bracteis oblongis sessilibus trilobis vel integris,
capsula semi-infera.
SAXIFRAGA rivularis. L im . Sp. P l.p . 577. (Ed. Fl. Dan. 1 .1 18 . Wild. Sp. PI. vol. 2. p. 652.
Smith Fl. Brit. p. 454. Engl. Bot. t. 2275. Wahl. Lapp. p. 117. Sternb. Saxifr.
p. 19. t. 12.ƒ . 3. Pers. Syn. PI. vol. 1 .p . 489. A it. Hort. Kew. ed. 2. vol. 3. p. 70.
J)on, Monogr. q f Saxifr. in Linn. Trans, vol. 13. p. 367. Hook. Fl. Scot. P . l . p. 130.
ß caule lanato, foliis profunde incisis.
SAXIFRAGA hyperborea. Brown in Parry's First Voy. App. p . cclxxiv.
Class a n d O r d e r . DECANDRIA DIGYNIA.
[N a t u r a l Or d e r . SA X IFRA G E S , Juss., Decand., Hook.']
G e n . Ch a r ." Calyx quinquefidus, persistens. Petala quinque. Capsula birostris, dissepimento placentiforrai,
semi-infera.—Spr.
G e n . Ch a r . Calyx five-cleft, persistent. Petals five. Capsule with two beaks, half-inferior, having the dissepiment
plaeentiform. Spr.
R adix perennis, fibrosa.
Caulis erectus, simplex vel ramosus, superne magis
minusve pubescens, in (3 lanatus.
Folia pauca, caulina, plerumque radicalia, longe petio-
lata, subrotunda, tri- ad quinque- lobo-palmata,
glabra, crassiuscula, subsucculenta ; in /3 profonde
partita.
Bracteæ solitariæ, vel duæ sub flore, sessiles, nunc tri-
lobæ, plerumque integræ.
F lores terminales, solitarii, bini vel terni. Pedicelli
breves.
Ca l y x semi-superus, quinque-partitus, laciniis ovatis,
erecto-patentibus, glabris.
Corolla pentapetala, petalis albis, obovatis, vix calyce
longioribus.
' Stamina decern, pistillo breviora. Antheræ parvæ,
subrotundæ, flavoe.
P istillum : Germen semi-superum, ovatum, infra ca-
lycem pubescens. Stigmata duo, patentia,.obtusa.
Root perennial, fibrous.
St em erect, simple, or branched, above more or less
pubescent, in (3 woolly.
Leaves few, cauline, most of them radical, upon long
footstalks, roundish, palmate, two- to five-lobed,
glabrous, thickish, somewhat succulent; in (3
deeply partite.
Bracteas solitary, or two beneath the flowers, sessile,
sometimes three-lobed, generally entire.
Flowers terminal, solitary, two or three together. Pedicels
short.
Calyx half-superior, five-partite, with the segments
ovate, erecto-patent, glabrous.
Corolla pentapetalous, with the petals white, obovate,
scarcely longer than the calyx.
Stamens ten, shorter than the pistil. Anthers small,
roundish, yellow.
P ist il : Germen half-superior, ovate, pubescent below
the calyx. Stigmas two, patent, obtuse.
Fig. 1. Flower. Fig. 2. Flower from which the petals are removed :—magnified.
As a native of Britain, Saxifraga M a r i e may undoubtedly rank among the “plant* rarioree" Dr. Townson
appears to have discovered it in 1790, on the east side of the mountain upon the top of Ben N evis,— a spot where
we have twice gathered it ourselves; but then that spot is so circumscribed, that we have at other timesin vain sought
for it. Mr. Dickson is, we believe, the only person who has gathered it on Ben Lawers. Mr. Somerville has detected
it at Loch Eannoch. I t is upon steep and almost inaccessible moist rocks on the mountain of Loch-na-garm I'oitai-
shire, that it probably grows in the greatest perfection and abundance : and there it has been found within these few
years by Mr. Drummond. We drew our specimen, (which is here figured,) on the spot in July 1824. In more
arctic regions, both of Europe and America, the plant is exceedingly plentiful; varying indeed somewhat in appearance,
yet not so as to be liable to be confounded with any other species, except Mr. Brown s S. hyperborea should
be considered to be such. To us it appears only a slight variety. m