Saxifraga rosacea explained

Saxifraga rosacea, Irish saxifrage, or rosy saxifrage, is a herbaceous plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The epithet rosacea does not refer to its flowers which are white,^[1] but to its radical sterile shoots which are often rosy.^[2] Owing to this misleading epithet, the rosy-flowered Saxifraga × arendsii is sometimes misidentified as Saxifraga rosacea.

It spreads by stolons, forming a compact cushion of short leafy sterile shoots. Flowering stems may be up to 25 cm tall, bearing 4 to 5 white flowers with petals 6-10mm long.^{[3] [4]}

It is found in Northwestern and Central Europe.^{[5] [6]} It was believed to have become extinct in the UK in 1962, but cuttings from original specimens have allowed for its reintroduction in 2024.^[7] It is usually found by mountain streams, but also grows on cliffs and scree slopes.

Subspecies

• Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea: southern and central Germany, eastern France, Ireland, Iceland, and Faroe Islands; extinct in Great Britain.
• Saxifraga rosacea subsp. hartii: Arranmore Island.
• Saxifraga rosacea subsp. sponhemica: Belgium, Luxembourg, eastern France, western Germany, Czechoslovakia, and southwestern Poland.
• Saxifraga rosacea subsp. steinmannii: Czech Republic.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Saxifraga rosacea Moench subsp. rosacea . 2023-11-08 . The National Data and Information Center on the Swiss Flora.
2. Book: Moench, Conrad . Methodus plantas horti botanici et agri Marburgensis . Officina Nova Libraria Academiae . 1794 . v.1 . Marburg . 106.
3. Web site: Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea | Online Atlas of the British and Irish Flora . brc.ac.uk . 25 May 2024.
4. Web site: Home . Alpine Garden Society . 25 May 2024.
5. Web site: Plants of Iceland: Saxifraga rosacea, Irish Saxifrage . iceland-nh.net . 25 May 2024.
6. Book: Tutin . T.G. . Flora Europaea . Burges . N.A. . Chater . A.O. . Edmondson . J.R. . Heywood . V.H. . Moore . D.M. . Valentine . D.H. . Walters . S.M. . Webb . D.A. . Cambridge University Press . 1993 . 0-521-41007-X . 2nd . 2 . Cambridge, UK . 452.
7. News: Georgina Rannard . Extinct ‘mountain jewel’ plant returned to wild - in secret location . 25 May 2024 . 25 May 2024 . www.bbc.com.
8. Web site: Saxifraga rosacea subsp. steinmannii (Tausch) Holub . 2023-11-07 . Plants of the World Online . Kew Science.