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Saxifrage family
Saxifragaceae
ユキノシタ科
A family of about 33 genera and 640 species including Saxifraga, Astilbe, Chrysosplenium, and Parnassia. Widely distributed in temperate and montane regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Many grow on rocky substrates and along streams, with the genus name meaning 'stone-breaker' reflecting their lithophytic habit.
Key Characteristics
- ●Mostly herbaceous (rarely shrubby)
- ●Flowers basically pentamerous and actinomorphic
- ●Hypanthium well developed; ovary often inferior to semi-inferior
- ●Leaves simple, mostly basal or alternate
- ●Many species favor moist rocky habitats and streamside environments
Morphological Traits
A family may include species with different trait values — multiple values indicate the range within the family.
Leaf arrangement
Alternate / Opposite
Leaf type
Simple / Compound
Venation
Pinnate / Palmate
Leaf margin
Serrate / Dentate / Entire / Crenate
Growth form
Herb
Evergreen/Deciduous
Deciduous
Compound type
Ternate / Palmate
Leaf dissection
Dissected / Undivided
Stipules
Present / Absent
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic / Zygomorphic
Petal count
Many
Petal fusion
Free / Fused
Ovary position
Superior / Inferior / Half-inferior
Stamen count
5
Plant sex
Hermaphrodite
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Saxifragales > Saxifragaceae
Divergence Era
Late Cretaceous to Paleogene (approx. 70 million years ago)
Representative Genera
Related Evolution Events
- ・Adaptation to rocky and alpine environments (leaf and root system modifications)
- ・Major familial reorganization within Saxifragales (APG revisions)
Plants in Saxifrage family on this site
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