About Chrysosplenium alternifolium L.
Alternate-leaved golden-saxifrage (Chrysosplenium alternifolium L.) is a perennial, mat-forming plant with trailing stems that reach 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 in) in height. Its fragile three-sided stems are hairy on the lower portions of the plant but smooth above. The alternately arranged leaves are stalked, broad, and kidney-shaped, with a few shallow rounded teeth and a small number of hairs. The flowers are surrounded by yellowish-green bracts, and have down-turned yellowish-green sepals but do not produce petals. The central flower in the corymb has five lobes, while all other flowers in the cluster have four lobes. There are eight stamens and two styles that are fused at the base. The fruit is a bowl-shaped, lidded capsule. This species flowers from April to June. Alternate-leaved golden-saxifrage is distributed across much of the cooler and wetter regions of Europe. Its natural habitat includes streamsides, ditch verges, bogs, woodland seeps, waterside meadows, and other wet areas. It flowers very early in the year, when woodland is relatively unshaded, before tree leaves have fully emerged. When raindrops strike the lids of its seed capsules, the lids are knocked off, and seeds are dispersed by the resulting water splashes.
