logo Calflora, a 501c3 non-profit
Taxon  Report  
Micranthes tolmiei  (Torr. & A. Gray) Brouillet & Gornall
Tolmie's saxifrage
Micranthes tolmiei is a perennial herb that is native to California, and also found elsewhere in North America and beyond.
also called Saxifraga tolmiei
Siskiyou Del Norte Modoc Humboldt Shasta Lassen Trinity Plumas Tehama Butte Mendocino Glenn Sierra Yuba Lake Nevada Colusa Placer Sutter El Dorado Yolo Alpine Napa Sonoma Sacramento Mono Amador Solano Calaveras Tuolumne San Joaquin Marin Contra Costa Alameda Santa Cruz Mariposa Madera San Francisco San Mateo Merced Fresno Stanislaus Santa Clara Inyo San Benito Tulare Kings Monterey San Bernardino San Luis Obispo Kern Santa Barbara Ventura Los Angeles Riverside Orange San Diego Imperial
DJJJASONAFMM

Bloom Period
Genus: Micranthes
Family: Saxifragaceae  
Category: angiosperm  
PLANTS group:Dicot
Jepson eFlora section: eudicot

Wetlands: Equally likely to occur in wetlands and non wetlands

Communities: Lodgepole Forest, Subalpine Forest, Alpine Fell-fields

Name Status:
Accepted by JEF

Alternate Names:
JEFSaxifraga tolmiei
PLANTSSaxifraga tolmiei
Information about  Micranthes tolmiei from other sources
Nursery availability from CNPLX
Commercial availability unknown.
Jepson eFlora

Photos on Calflora

Photos on CalPhotos

Google Images

Photos on iNaturalist

ID Tips on PlantID.net

[Wikipedia] Range, Habitat, Description, Namesake: Micranthes tolmiei is a species of flowering plant known by the common name Tolmie's saxifrage, or Tolmie's alpine saxifrage. It is native to western North America from Alaska to Montana to California, where it grows in rocky mountain habitat types, especially in alpine climates, such as talus and fellfields. It is a small perennial herb growing in mats of creeping stems lined with thick, fleshy leaves each up to 1.5 centimeters long. The inflorescence arises on a stout, erect peduncle with a few stubby bracts midway up. The flowers have narrow white petals and petal-like white stamens. It was discovered by and named for Dr. William Fraser Tolmie. At the time, Dr. Tolmie was a 21-year old employee of the Hudson's Bay Company. He discovered M. tolmiei while climbing Mount Rainier in present-day Washington state. (contributed by Mary Ann Machi)


Suggested Citation
Calflora: Information on California plants for education, research and conservation, with data contributed by public and private institutions and individuals. [web application]. 2024. Berkeley, California: The Calflora Database [a non-profit organization]. Available: https://www.calflora.org/   (Accessed: 04/18/2024).