Saxifraga cespitosa L.

Tufted Saxifrage

Habitat: Rock crevices, cliffs, rocky slopes. [Alpine or subalpine (non-forested, upland)]

Range: Circumboreal. In North America from maritime Canada, south to Maine, across Canada to Alaska, south to California, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Aids to Identification: A tufted plant with leaves tightly bundled in small whorls on short stems that grows in small tussocks. Each rosette sends up several flower stalks with a white, 5-petaled flower.

Ecological characteristics: Ledges and terraces of circumneutral rock outcrops and talus slopes.

Phenology: In Maine, flowers in June.

Family: Saxifragaceae

Synonyms: Saxifraga caespitosa L.

Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 1 town(s) in the following county(ies): Aroostook.

Reason(s) for rarity: At southern limit of its range in eastern North America.

Conservation considerations: The known population is in a small area and subject to the vagaries of small populations like random fluctuations or localized disturbance events.