Peak Pseudosaxifrage

Micranthes nidifica (Greene) Small
Saxifraga nidifica Greene, Erythea 1 : 222. 1893.
Leaves erect or ascending, 1-4.5 cm. long, the blades ovate to oblong-ovate, entire, glabrous, bright-green above, pale-green or purplishtinged beneath, abruptly narrowed at the base, the petiole-like bases shorter than the blades or fully as long, glabrous ; scapes relatively slender, erect, solitary, 16-28 cm. tall, pubescent with short glandular hairs and also with arachnoid hairs ; cymes permanently contracted, the lower ones peduncled, the peduncles very slender, several times exceeding the subtending bracts ; sepals broadly ovate, not ciliate ; petals oval to oval-orbicular, about 1.4 mm. long, slightly notched at the apex, without claw-like bases, shorter than the sepals ; filaments lanceolate.
Type locality : Above Donner I,ake, California. Distribution : California.

Micranthes columbiana (Piper) Small
Saxifraga columbiana Piper, Bull. Torrey Club 27 : 393. 1900.
Leaves erect or ascending, 2-10 cm. long, the blades oblong to elliptic, varying to ovate, shallowly undulate or denticulate, glabrous or nearly so on both sides, gradually or abruptly narrowed into petiole-like bases which are usually shorter than the blades ; scapes erect, relatively slender, 1-3.5 dm. tall, rather copiously glandular-pubescent throughout; cymules permanently contracted, the lower ones terminating slender peduncles; sepals ovate to oblong; petals oblong to cuneate, 1.4-2 mm. long, shorter than the sepals;
filaments subulate.
Type locality: Pullman, Washington. Distribution : Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

Micranthes montana Small, sp. nov
Leaves spreading, 2-3.5 cm. long, the blades ovate to oblong, entire or crenate-undulate, glabrous or nearly so, narrowed into rather long petiole-like bases ; scapes erect, usually solitary, 8-21 cm. tall, more densely glandular-pubescent above than below; cymules permanently compact, terminating the rather long spreading or ascendingspreading inflorescence-branches; sepals ovate, about 1.5 mm. long, eciliate; petals white, ovate to elliptic-ovate, 1.8-2.1 mm. long, clawless; filaments subulate; follicles 1-1.5 mm. high, purplish, the bodies depressed, the tips somewhat spreading.
Type collected at Pyramid Peak, California, in the summer of 1903, by Mrs. F. M. Meigs. Distribution : California.

Micranthes nidifica, the peak saxifrage, is a species of plant in the saxifrage family. It is native to the northwestern United States, where it grows in moist habitat, often in mountainous areas. It is a perennial herb growing from a caudex and system of rhizomes and producing a basal rosette of leaves. Each leaf is up to 10 centimeters long with a smooth-edged or minutely toothed blade on a thin petiole. The inflorescence arises on a peduncle up to half a meter tall and bears clusters of flowers with white petals.