Saxifraga tricuspidata Rothb.
Prickly saxifrage, three-toothed saxifrage.
Saxifragaceae, saxifrage family.
Skr. Kjobenhavnske Slesk. Laerd. Vidensk. 10: 446. 1770.
Type: Greenland: [Grønland], 1739, leg. Egede. Egede Herbarium (C) holotype.
S. tricuspidata Rottb. var. subintegrifolia Abrom.
Leptasea tricuspidata (Rottb.) Haw.
Vegetative morphology. Plants perennial herbs (with a tendency to become a sub-shrub); 5–15(–25) cm high; caespitose, or not caespitose; with often reddish-tinged stems and leathery leaves, close together, sometimes forming large, bunches. Taproot present (as the primary root from a tuft of stems). Ground-level or under-ground stems not developed horizontally or vertically (cushions), or horizontal (trailing plants); stoloniferous. Aerial stems erect, or decumbent; glabrous, or sparsely hairy (with a few gland tipped hairs near the inflorescence). Leaves heterophyllous; distributed along the stems; alternate (often reddish in colour); simple (vegetative leaves rigid, leathery, cuneate-spathulate with 1–3 prickly, tooth-like lobes at the apex, upper leaves on the flowering stems, linear, entire); evergreen, or marcescent. Petioles absent. Blades 5–20 mm long; 1–4(–6) mm wide. Blades leathery; linear, or oblanceolate, or spatulate; flat. Blade margins lobed, or not lobed. Blade margins with non-glandular hairs. Conspicuous hydathodes present (3 per leaf; each hydathode opens on the upper side of the leaf margin, and does not secrete lime).
Reproductive morphology. Flowering stems present. Flowering stems with leaves (leaves on the flowering stems linear, entire); hairy (with sparse glandular hairs, seen at 10x). Inflorescence cymose; 0.5–2.5 cm long. Flowers per inflorescence 3–10; medium-sized, 5–15 mm in diameter or length. Calyx sepals 5; free. Calyx green, or purple; glabrous (and somewhat ciliate). Petals free; 5; white (creamy), or yellow (when dried); with contrasting markings (yellowish orange-red or reddish-brown or deep purple dots); ovate; unlobed; 6–7 mm long. Stamens 10. Nectaries present. Gynoecia superior. Carpels partly fused; 2. Styles 2; free. Stigmas per style 1. Placentation axile. Ovules many. Fruit with calyx persisting; dry; a capsule; ovoid (with prominent styles); dehiscent; splitting to the base into separate segments. Fruit 4–6.5 mm long; 3–4.5 mm wide; brown, or red. Styles modified and persisting. Seeds many; 0.6–0.9 mm long; brown; with surfaces smooth, or ridged (seen at 40x).
Chromosome information. 2n = 26. 26 (2x). - Böcher and Larsen (1950Greenland); Harmsen in Jørgensen et al. (1958 Greenland); Moore in Calder and Savile (1959 Canada); Packer (1964 northwestern Canada); Mosquin and Hayley (1966 northern Canada); Hedberg (1967 northern Canada); Johnson and Packer (1968 northwestern Alaska ); Knaben (1968 central Alaska); Löve and Löve (1982a central Canada). Ploidy levels recorded 2x.
Distribution. Northern hemisphere distribution: North American. Arctic. Range in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago widespread. Common (often forming vigorous loose mats in suitable situations, and often of considerable ecological importance). Arctic Islands: Baffin, Devon, Ellesmere, Axel Heiberg, Parry Islands, Cornwallis, Banks, Victoria, Prince of Wales, Somerset, and King William.
Ecology and habitat. Substrates: rocks (dry gravel areas). Habitats: The flowers and the inflorescences droop before opening, but are erect during expansion. Nectar is secreted abundantly by the thick yellow base of the ovary. It is present as small drops even before the anthers open, and the secretion is continued for a very long time, even in old flowers. Protandry occurs, but anthers and stigmas are fertile throughout the greater part of the life of the flower. Self-pollination appears to take place. Fruit has been observed to ripen in West Greenland and the eastern Canadian Arctic. The capsules are stiffly errect and gradually split open with the onset of winter, but the opening remains relatively small. When the wind reaches a certain speed the capsules vibrate and the seeds gradually shake out. Many seed are not shed until the winds have packed the snow into a surface as smooth and hard as an asphalt road. Since the seed are shed only when the wind is blowing strongly, many of them are carried great distances in a single gale Saville, 1968.
Taxon as an environmental indicator. Variations in the height and the vigour of mats of plants of this species are dependent on local environmental conditions and indicative of the harshness of the environment. The northernmost record is Ellesmere Island, Ravine Pond, 82°30'N (Canada).
Indigenous knowledge. Inuit names: kakillarnaqutit, tiinnguat,
a'asaat. The name means "that which causes prickly feelings" (root kaki-
to prick). Tiinnguat means "tea substitute". A'asaat might be onomatopoeia
referring to the sound a person would make if they were pricked "a'aa," "ouch"..
The leaves have been used to make tea and the leaves were put on cuts (Ootoova
et al., 2001). The plants were considered by some to be not good if eaten raw.
Others enjoyed them because of their prickliness, but people were advised not to
shallow them, unless they had been well chewed first.
The plants have been
used as bedding for raising husky puppies as the prickles on the leaves are
believed to cause the pads on the feet to toughen up, so that, as adult dogs,
they are less likely to need booties when being used to pull komatiks on sea ice
(personal communication, Judith Farrow, 1986).
Notes. Galloe (1910) considered this species a xerophyte based on the
habitats where it grows and the internal anatomy of leaves.
This species is
not known outside of North America and Greenland. Polunin (1940) stated that
"the vast majority of the specimens from our area have the leaves tricuspidate,
and so belong to the typical form. Some however, especially when growing in
exposed habitats, have most of their leaves lacking these conspicuous lateral
teeth, and a few from widely separate parts of our area have all the leaves
sub-entire". Polunin (1938) recognized a forma subintegrifolia (Abrom.)
Polunin but this was not taken up by Porsild (1957).
Polunin (1940) stated
that "S. tricuspidata varies little in our area, except in luxuriance.
Thus the axes may sometimes be only 5 cm high, although generally they rise to
double this height and sometimes exceed 15 cm. Such luxuriant specimens growing
in the most favorable situations may form extensive mats, especially in the
south. The plant generally looks reddish, but in damp and shaded crevices there
occur lengthened green forms, which are usually sterile". No reason for
maintaining the forma recognized by Polunin (1940) has been found.
Illustrations. • Habitat. Plants with creamy yellow flowers growing in a disturbed habitat at the base of a Thule site. Nunavut, Ellesmere Island, Alexandra Fiord at the top of the fiord. L.J. Gillespie. • Habitat. Isolated plants growing on steep rocky slope. Photograph from CMN Photo-Library. • Habit. PRICKLY SAXIFRAGE, THREE-TOOTHED SAXIFRAGE. Plants growing from basal cluster of leaves, with flowering stems with simple leaves and inflorescences with several flowers. Photograph from CMN Photo-Library. • Habit. Old flowering plants with creamy white flowers, and evidence of previous growth as limited reddish growth towards the right-hand side fo the picture. Nunavut, Ellesmere Island, Alexandra Fiord, L.J. Gillespie. • Line drawing of leaves. Fig. A, base of plant showing alternate, clustered leaf arrangement. Fig. B, leaf apex with three sharp points that feel like prickles and explain the name 'prickly saxifrage. • Close-up of flowers. Flowers have whitish petals with red and yellowish orange spots, green sepals that are much shorter than the petals, in the lower left flower, stamens that alternate with the petals and tipped with anthers, the remains of the first whorl of stamens that are opposite the petals, and in the centre of the flowers, two pale green carpels. Nunavut, Baffin Island, Pond Inlet. L.J. Gillespie, 6033. CAN. • Close-up of plants in fruit. Note dehisced capsules. Nunavut, Baffin Island, Iqaluit. Aiken 97–007. CAN. Scale bar in cm. • Arctic Island Distribution.
Cite this publication as: ‘S.G. Aiken, M.J. Dallwitz, L.L. Consaul, C.L. McJannet, L.J. Gillespie, R.L. Boles, G.W. Argus, J.M. Gillett, P.J. Scott, R. Elven, M.C. LeBlanc, A.K. Brysting and H. Solstad. 1999 onwards. Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Version: 29th April 2003. http://www.mun.ca/biology/delta/arcticf/’. Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993, 1995, 2000) should also be cited (see References).
