- Related Topics:
- saxifrage
- Penthorum
- Astilbe
- Astilbe chinensis
- Astilbe japonica
Saxifragaceae
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What is the Saxifragaceae plant family?
The Saxifragaceae, or saxifrage family, is a group of flowering plants in the order Rosales, typically found in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. This family includes about 600 species across 36 genera of mostly perennial herbs.
Saxifragaceae members have distinct characteristics, such as alternating leaves along the stem that are sometimes deeply lobed or form rosettes. Their flowers have both male and female parts, generally with four or five sepals and petals, in colors ranging from greenish to white or yellow, and from pink or red to purple. The fruit is a capsule containing many seeds.
Many cultivated species belong to the genus Saxifraga, also known as rockfoil. Other well-known members include coral bells (Heuchera), Astilbe, bishop’s cap (Mitella), woodland stars (Lithophragma), Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata), foamflower (Tiarella), and pickaback plant (Tolmiea menziesii). The name Saxifraga literally means "rock breaker," because saxifrages can grow on exposed rocky crags and in fissures of rocks.
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What types of plants are found in the Saxifragaceae family?
The Saxifragaceae, or saxifrage family, contains roughly 600 species within 36 genera of mostly perennial herbaceous plants. Though cosmopolitan, they are primarily found in northern cold and temperate regions.
Common plants in this family include coral bells or alum root (Heuchera), Astilbe, bishop’s cap or mitrewort (Mitella), woodland stars (Lithophragma), Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata), foamflower or false mitrewort (Tiarella), and pickaback plant (Tolmiea menziesii).
Species of the genus Saxifraga are known for their ability to grow and thrive on exposed rocky crags and in fissures of rocks. The name Saxifraga literally means “rock breaker”. Most Saxifragaceae species, however, grow in moist shaded woodlands. Among these are species of Saxifraga, Astilbe, Rodgersia, Astilboides, Peltiphyllum, Micranthes, and Boykinia.
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Where do plants in the Saxifragaceae family usually grow?
The Saxifragaceae family, containing around 600 species in 36 genera, is mainly found in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
However, the family shows adaptation to different moisture conditions. While most species grow in moist, shaded woodlands, some are aquatic, like Saxifraga nutans, or grow in bogs and cold mountain streams, such as Micranthes pensylvanica and M. micranthidifolia.
Other species are adapted to dry conditions, with adaptations to store moisture, such as leaf rosettes or a strongly cuticularized epidermis. Species of Saxifraga are known to grow on exposed rocky crags and in fissures, even in places covered by snow and ice for long periods.
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What are some common features of Saxifragaceae plants?
Saxifragaceae, commonly known as the saxifrage family, consists of around 600 species across 36 genera of mostly perennial herbaceous plants. They are mainly found in northern cold and temperate regions.
Common characteristics include:
* Leaves that alternate along the stem, sometimes deeply lobed or in rosettes.
* Flowers with both male and female parts, generally borne in branched clusters.
* Four or five sepals and petals ranging in color from greenish to white or yellow and from pink or red to purple.
* Fruit that is a capsule with many seeds.
* Radially symmetric flowers with petals that are free rather than fused together.
* Seeds with abundant endosperm.
* Separate (unfused) carpels, at least toward the apex.The name Saxifraga means "rock breaker," because species in this family are known for their ability to grow on exposed rocky crags and in fissures.
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How do Saxifragaceae plants reproduce?
Saxifragaceae, commonly known as the saxifrage family, exhibits both sexual and asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction involves the transfer of pollen from the stamens to the ovules, leading to fertilization and seed production. Asexual reproduction, also known as vegetative reproduction, occurs when a new plant grows from a fragment of the parent plant or from specialized structures like bulbils. Some species also reproduce through apomixis, a process where asexual seeds develop without normal fertilization.
Most members of this family have flowers with both male and female parts. Environmental factors, such as light and temperature, also play key roles in the maturation of sporophytes and gametophytes, influencing their ability to produce spores and gametes.
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Why are Saxifragaceae plants important in nature or gardening?
Saxifragaceae plants, also known as the saxifrage family, are important in both nature and gardening. With 36 genera and about 600 species, they are mostly perennial herbaceous plants found in northern cold and temperate regions.
In nature, Saxifragaceae species display diverse adaptations to different moisture conditions, from aquatic plants to those thriving in dry habitats. The genus Saxifraga is known for growing on exposed rocky crags, with the name literally meaning "rock breaker".
In gardening, many species are cultivated in rock gardens or as border ornamentals, such as coral bells (Heuchera) and Astilbe. Saxifraga species are valued for their small, bright flowers and fine-textured foliage, with alpine species flowering earliest in gardens.
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Saxifragaceae, the saxifrage family of flowering plants (order Rosales), comprising 36 genera and about 600 species of mostly perennial herbaceous plants. The members are cosmopolitan in distribution but native primarily to northern cold and temperate regions. Members of the family have leaves that characteristically alternate along the stem and are sometimes deeply lobed or form rosettes. The flowers possess both male and female parts and four or five sepals and petals; they are generally borne in branched clusters and range in colour from greenish to white or yellow and from pink or red to purple. The fruit is a capsule with many seeds.
Most of the cultivated species in the family belong to the saxifrage, or rockfoil, genus (Saxifraga). Well-known members of the family that are often planted in rock gardens or as border ornamentals include coral bells or alum root (genus Heuchera), Astilbe, bishop’s cap, or mitrewort (Mitella), woodland stars (Lithophragma), Indian rhubarb (Darmera peltata), foamflower, or false mitrewort (Tiarella), and pickaback plant (Tolmiea menziesii).
Leaves of Astilbe philippinensis are used in northern Luzon, Philippines, for smoking. The rhizomes of Chinese bergenia (Bergenia purpurascens) are used in Chinese medicine to stop bleeding and to serve as a tonic. Heartleaf foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia) of North America is used in folk medicine as a diuretic and tonic. Creeping saxifrage (Saxifraga stolonifera), native to China and Japan, is used in Java, Vietnam, and various parts of China for earaches and other ear problems. It is also employed in China for attacks of cholera and to treat hemorrhoids.
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The family Saxifragaceae illustrates the entire range of adaptation to different moisture conditions. Saxifraga nutans is a true aquatic plant. Marsh saxifrage (Micranthes pensylvanica) grows in bogs, and lettuceleaf saxifrage (M. micranthidifolia) grows in cold mountain streams and on wet rocks. Other species are more or less adapted to dry conditions, among them rueleaf saxifrage (S. tridactylites), which stores moisture in small bulblike bodies on the stem (bulbils). Similarly, S. trifurcata has a strongly cuticularized epidermis, S. globulifera produces membranous bud scales and hairy stipules, and rough saxifrage (S. aspera) stores moisture in its fleshy, heavily cuticularized, long-persistent leaves; all are examples of adaptations to dry habitats. In some, leaf rosettes are produced. The bases of the lower leaves in the rosettes are only weakly cuticularized, so that dew accumulating there may be absorbed by the leaves in sufficient quantity to enable the flowering shoot to develop.
Species of the genus Saxifraga are known for their tenacious ability to grow and thrive on exposed rocky crags and in fissures of rocks. The name Saxifraga literally means “rock breaker.” Thus, saxifrages grow high in Alpine regions of the mountains of Europe, in places that are covered with snow and ice for long periods of the year. The plants have tough wiry root systems and deeply penetrating taproots. In the same harsh environments, some saxifrages develop as cushion plants, involving a considerable reduction in leaf surface and a foreshortened shoot.
Most Saxifragaceae species, however, grow in moist shaded woodlands. Among these are species of Saxifraga, Astilbe, Rodgersia, Astilboides, Peltiphyllum, Micranthes, and Boykinia.