''Saxifraga flagellaris'', the whiplash saxifrage or flagellate saxifrage, is a plant native all over the Eurasian Arctic Coast, Siberia, Far East, Caucasus and some areas of northern

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. It is not very common. It is also known as spider saxifrage or "spider plant", though the latter name more commonly refers to the unrelated '' Chlorophytum comosum'' (

Agavaceae Agavoideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, order Asparagales. It has previously been treated as a separate family, Agavaceae. The group includes many well-known desert and dry-zone types, such as the aga ...

). The broadsepal saxifrage ('' S. platysepala'') was formerly included in the present species, then made a separate species, and later again made a subspecies, Saxifraga flagellaris ssp. platysepala—broadsepal saxifrage (http://www.cbif.gc.ca/pls/itisca/next?v_tsn=24270&taxa=&p_format=&p_ifx=&p_lang=). The species found in Greenland, Svalbard, Alaska etc. is Saxifraga flagellaris ssp. platysepala—broadsepal saxifrage. The stems are single, erect and leafy, growing to 3–10 cm tall. The basal leaves in a dense rosette from which long, filiform runners radiate ending in a small, rooting offset; they also have glandular hairs on the margins. Each stem usually has one terminal

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

, rarely two, with golden yellow petals, much longer than the calyx lobes. The whole plant is more or less red. It grows in moist places, on gravel or in moss carpets. It is not in any danger of extinction, but is yet very rare. ''Saxifraga flagellaris'' was described by

Willdenow Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was al ...

. Other authors often used the name for '' Saxifraga platysepala'' (broadsepal saxifrage). Image:Warming-Skudbygning-Fig6-Saxifraga-flagellaris.jpg, ''Saxifraga flagellaris'' ssp. ''platysepala'': A flowering plant with some of its runners, a leaf from a layer rosettea leaf from the flowering stem ( Warming 1884)

References

flagellaris Flora of the Arctic Flora of Norway Flora of Canada {{Saxifragaceae-stub