''Saxifraga rotundifolia'', common name round-leaved saxifrage, is a flowering

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

and

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial grasses, ...

of the genus ''

Saxifraga ''Saxifraga'' is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 473 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word ''saxifraga'' means literally "stone-breaker", from Latin ' ("rock" or " ...

''.

Subspecies

* ''Saxifraga rotundifolia'' subsp. ''heucherifolia'' (Grisebach & Schrenk.) Ciocarlan * ''Saxifraga rotundifolia'' subsp. ''rotundifolia''

Description

''Saxifraga rotundifolia'' can reach a height of . This

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

plant has fleshy leaves arranged in dense basal rosette. They are petiolate (up to 10 cm), up to 5 cm across, dark green, hairy, simple, rounded or almost heart-shaped, bordered by numerous triangular notches. The flowering stems are erect, pubescent, branched at the top, bearing narrow panicles of star-shaped flowers. These flowers have five lanceolate petals, usually white with numerous minute pink-purple specks. They bloom from April to August.

Distribution

This species is present in the central and southern Europe in the Iberian Peninsula, the Alps and the Balkans.

Habitat

''Saxifraga rotundifolia'' prefers shady forests, damps, cliffs, stony soils and margins of streams at elevation of above sea level.

References

BiolibAlpine Plant EncyclopaediaActa Plantarum
rotundifolia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Saxifragaceae-stub