The Plants of Michigan Part 49

2a. Leaves 3-5 mm. long, very thick and fleshy (tufted plants about 1 dm. high, with yellow flowers in summer) =Stonecrop, Sedum acre.=

2b. Leaves 10-30 mm. long, flat (tufted plants 1-2 dm. high; flowers white, in spring) =Stonecrop, Sedum ternatum.=

3a. Petals present, purple (2-5 dm. high; summer) =Live-for-ever, Sedum purpureum.=

3b. Petals none (3-6 dm. high; summer) =Ditch Stonecrop, Penthorum sedoides.=

SAXIFRAGACEAE, the Saxifrage Family

Herbs or shrubs, with alternate or opposite leaves; petals and sepals each 5, or the petals none; stamens 5 or 10; styles or stigmas 2-4.

1a. Shrubs with lobed leaves (3-15 dm. high; flowers in late spring) --2.

1b. Herbs --12.

2a. Stems th.o.r.n.y --3.

2b. Stems not th.o.r.n.y (Currant) --8.

3a. Flowers and fruits in racemes =Swamp Currant, Ribes lacustre.=

3b. Flowers and fruit in short cl.u.s.ters (Gooseberry) --4.

4a. Ovary and fruit p.r.i.c.kly and bristly =Gooseberry, Ribes cynosbati.=

4b. Ovary and fruit smooth, or sometimes a little glandular --5.

5a. Stamens equaling the ovate calyx-lobes in length, or a very little longer --6.

5b. Stamens distinctly longer than the linear calyx-lobes --7.

6a. Leaves glabrous beneath, or nearly so =Gooseberry, Ribes oxyacanthoides.=

6b. Leaves softly p.u.b.escent beneath =Gooseberry, Ribes oxyacanthoides var. calcicola.=

7a. Flowers, including the stamens, about 15 mm. long =Gooseberry, Ribes gracile.=

7b. Flowers, including the stamens, about 8 mm. long =Gooseberry, Ribes rotundifolium.=

8a. Calyx prolonged above the ovary into a tube which is longer than the sepals --9.

8b. Calyx-tube shorter than the ovary or none --10.

9a. Flowers greenish-yellow, inconspicuous; calyx-tube narrowly bell-shape =Black Currant, Ribes floridum.=

9b. Flowers bright yellow, conspicuous; calyx-tube narrow, with spreading lobes =Golden Currant, Ribes aureum.=

10a. Ovary and berry bristly with glandular hairs =Skunk Currant, Ribes prostratum.=

10b. Ovary and fruit smooth, or with sessile glands --11.

11a. Leaves dotted beneath with resinous glands =Black Currant, Ribes hudsonianum.=

11b. Leaves glabrous or p.u.b.escent beneath, without resinous glands =Red Currant, Ribes triste.=

12a. Flowers minute, yellowish, without petals, in the axils of the leaves (1-2 dm. high; flowers in spring) =Golden Saxifrage, Chrysosplenium americanum.=

12b. Flowers large, solitary, terminating erect stalks (leaves mostly basal; flowers white, in late summer; flower-stalks 1-5 dm. high) (Gra.s.s-of-Parna.s.sus) --13.

12c. Flowers in terminal racemes, panicles, or cl.u.s.ters --15.

13a. Flowers less than 2 cm. wide; leaves narrowed to the base =Gra.s.s-of-Parna.s.sus, Parna.s.sia parviflora.=

13b. Flowers 2-3.5 cm. wide; leaves rounded or cordate at the base --14.

14a. A 3-cleft scale at the base of each petal =Gra.s.s-of-Parna.s.sus, Parna.s.sia caroliniana.=

14b. A many-cleft (9-15) scale at the base of each petal =Gra.s.s-of-Parna.s.sus, Parna.s.sia pal.u.s.tris.=

15a. Leaves linear to oblanceolate, 3 times as long as broad, or more, and pinnately veined (Saxifrage) --16.

15b. Leaves broadly ovate to nearly circular, frequently cordate at the base, and always palmately veined or lobed --20.

16a. Leaves basal; the flower-stalk bearing no leaves except small ones at the base of its branches --17.

16b. Flower-stalk leafy below (1-3 dm. high; flowers yellow, summer) --18.

17a. Petals white; sepals erect; leaves conspicuously toothed, 3-10 cm.

long (1-3 dm. high; spring) =Saxifrage, Saxifraga virginiensis.=

17b. Petals greenish; sepals reflexed; leaves minutely toothed or entire, 10-30 cm. long (5-10 dm. high; spring) =Saxifrage, Saxifraga pennsylvanica.=

18a. Leaves with 3 sharp teeth at the apex =Saxifrage, Saxifraga tricuspidata.=

18b. Leaves with numerous teeth or entire --19.

19a. Leaves linear, chiefly on the stem =Saxifrage, Saxifraga aizoides.=

19b. Leaves spatulate, chiefly in a basal rosette =Saxifrage, Saxifraga aizoon.=

20a. Stamens 5 (leaves mostly basal; flowers greenish or purplish in late spring, on stalks 5-10 dm. high) (Alum Root) --21.

20b. Stamens 10 (flowers white, in spring) --23.

21a. Flowers regular =Alum Root, Heuchera americana.=