About Micranthes nivalis (L.) Small
Micranthes nivalis (L.) Small is a plant species in the saxifrage family. It is commonly known as snow saxifrage, and is also ambiguously called alpine saxifrage. This is a perennial plant that grows on damp, shady, base-rich rocks and cliffs, most often in rock crevices and on ledges in locations where other competing plants cannot crowd it out. In Britain, the highest recorded altitudes for the species are in Scotland, ranging from 365 metres (1,198 ft) at the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye, to 1,210 metres (3,970 ft) on Ben Lawers in Perth & Kinross. Unconfirmed claims place it as high as 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) in the Cairngorms. It reaches a height of 5–20 centimetres (2–8 in), growing from a leafless, hairy stalk. Its flowers are greenish white when young, turning reddish as they age, and bear five petals and five sepals. A basal rosette of leathery, greyish green, rhomboidal leaves sits close to the soil surface at the base of the stem, and these leaves are only sparsely haired. The Latin specific epithet nivalis means either "as white as snow" or "growing near snow". This species occurs naturally in Norway, Ireland, Svalbard, northern Germany, Poland, Russia, Canada, Alaska and Greenland. Carl Linnaeus first formally described this species in 1737 in Flora Lapponica, after his expedition to Lapland. Some authors have recognized populations from the Canadian province of Quebec as a distinct species, while others classify them as a variety of M. nivalis. This Quebec taxon has been variously named Saxifraga gaspensis Fernald, Saxifraga nivalis var. gaspensis (Fernald) B. Boivin, and Micranthes gaspensis (Fernald) Small. It differs from M. nivalis var. nivalis by its smaller inflorescences and narrower leaves, and is only known from the Shickshock Mountains of the Gaspé Peninsula in southeastern Quebec. It has been suggested this taxon may be a hybrid of M. nivalis and M. tenuis, and further study is needed to confirm its status.
