''Micranthes aprica'' is a species of flowering plant known by the common name Sierra saxifrage. It is native to the high mountains of California, including the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

and the southern

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

, and adjacent slopes in southern Oregon and western Nevada. It grows in mountain habitat in areas of alpine climate, such as meadows and next to streams of snowmelt. It is a perennial herb which spends most of the year in a dormant state in order to save water, and rarely flowers.Jackson, L. E. and L. C. Bliss. (1984). Phenology and water relations of three plant life forms in a dry tree-line meadow. '' Ecology'' 65:4 1302-14. It produces a small gray-green basal rosette of toothed oval leaves up to about 4 centimeters long. When it does bloom, it sends up an erect inflorescence on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

several centimeters tall topped with a cluster of flowers. Each flower has five sepals, five small white petals, and a clump of whiskery

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s at the center. Sierra saxifrage Saxifraga aprica close

References

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
aprica Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Nevada Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Saxifragaceae-stub