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.
| Saxifraga rosacea | |
|---|---|
_5725.JPG) | |
| Saxifraga rosacea photographed at a botanical garden in Iceland in 2010. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Saxifragaceae |
| Genus: | Saxifraga |
| Species: | S. rosacea |
| Binomial name | |
| 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.[3][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.[3]
Subspecies
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. rosacea: southern and central Germany, eastern France, Ireland, Iceland, and Faroe Islands; extinct in Great Britain.[6]
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. hartii: Arranmore Island.[6]
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. sponhemica: Belgium, Luxembourg, eastern France, western Germany, Czechoslovakia, and southwestern Poland.[6]
- Saxifraga rosacea subsp. steinmannii: Czech Republic.[8]