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Close-up of flower
Saxifraga pensylvanica
Common Name: Swamp Saxifrage
Family: Saxifragaceae
Description: A perennial herb with a thickened rootstock
Leaves: Toothed or wavy-edged lanceolate leaves in a circular cluster that radiate from the center
Flowers: Small (3 mm wide), star-shaped, five-petaled, greenish-white flowers that occur in stalked loose clusters along a hairy but leafless stem.
Seeds: Found within a 2-beaked capsule
Stem: Erect, arising from the middle of the cluster of basal leaves; hairy; bearing only flowers
Branching Pattern: Basal rosette
Height: 30-90 cm
Conditions/Habitat/Kind of Forest: Wet meadows, swamps, boggy thickets, and seeping banks.
Range: Northeastern part of the United States
Conservation Status-US/ World Wide: Endangered in Indiana and Kentucky; Threatened in Maine
Uses (Human): Eaten raw or cooked; used in salads. Used as a blood purifier and to treat kidney and gallbladder stones.
References:
Aquatic and Wetland Vascular Plants of the Northern Great Plains. February 23, 2005. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/othrdata/plntguid/species/saxipens.htm>
Maine Natural Areas Program. 2004. Commissioner of
the Department of Conservation. Accessed: November 29, 2005.
<http://www.mainenaturalareas.org/docs/rare_plants/links/factsheets/
saxifragapensylvanica.pdf>
Plants for a Future. June 2004. Accessed: November 29, 2005. <http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Saxifraga+pensylvanica>
Thieret, John W. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers: Eastern Region (Rev. Ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 2001.