Leaves forming a rosette, spreading or ascending ¾—2 inches long, ovoid or rhombic-ovoid, obtuse, crenulate or dentate-serrate, nearly smooth except the ciliate margins, mainly green, sometimes purplish beneath, abruptly or gradually narrowed into petiole-like bases, which are occasionally larger than the blades. Flowers in a compact terminal head on a copiously glandular, naked scape 3—10 inches high; sepals ovate to triangular ¹/₁₆—⅛ of an inch long barely if at all ciliate, 3-veined; petals white, obovate or oblong-ovate, twice as long as the sepals, notched at the apex, seed pods green or purplish, the points spreading. A frequent alpine plant in the more or less moist, shaded situations throughout the Rockies; flowering in July. [Illustration: Micranthes Nelsoniana (D. Don.) Small. (½ Nat.) Nelson’s Saxifrage.] [Illustration: Micranthes Lyallii (Engler) Small. (⅔ Nat.) Lyall’s Saxifrage.] [Sidenote: =Micranthes Lyallii= (Engler) Small. _Lyall’s Saxifrage._] Leaves erect or ascending ½—2½ inches long, fan-shaped varying to suborbicular, typically wedge-shaped at the base, coarsely few-toothed above with the teeth mainly directed forward, smooth or nearly so, the petiole-like bases often longer than the blades. Flowering stems 3—24 inches tall, smooth or nearly so, sparingly branched above, commonly purple, few-flowered; petals white with 2 yellow blotches below the middle, broadly oblong or suborbicular, often slightly notched at the apex, twice as long as the sepals, often tinged and streaked with red on the outside; seed pods nearly ½ an inch high, purple or purple-tinged, usually 3 or 4 together, with pointed beaks. An alpine form frequent throughout the region in damp, shady, or open places and along the borders of mountain streams; a rather striking plant, flowering in July. [Sidenote: =Micranthes Nelsoniana= (D. Don.) Small. _Nelson’s Saxifrage._] Leaves erect or ascending, 1—5 inches long, suborbicular or reniform, ¾—1¾ inches in diameter, deeply cordate at the base, usually sparingly hairy on both sides, coarsely few-toothed with crenate, gland-tipped teeth. Flower-stem erect, 1½—7 inches tall, glandular-villous, especially above, terminating in a compact head usually with purple or purplish bracts; sepals ovate or oblong-ovate ⅙—⅛ of an inch long, ciliate; petals white, broadly oblong to ovate, twice as long as the sepals. A rather rare though very beautiful alpine flower found throughout the region in moist places and along alpine brooks; flowering in June. [Illustration: Spatularia Brunoniana (Bong.) Small. (¼ Nat.) Tall Saxifrage.] [Illustration: Leptasea austromontana (Wiegand) Small. (⅓ Nat.) Common Saxifrage.] [Sidenote: =Spatularia Brunoniana= Bong. _Tall Saxifrage._]