another mystery plant

[Howey]

Have had this tiny plant quite a while.  To give you some idea of its size, it is next to Potentilla tridentata which is also quite miniature - you can see the leaves on the left. Could be some type of Saxifrage or a wee Semp.  Any ideas?

[Lori S.]

Looks like a saxifrage to me, rather than a sempervivum.  What do the plant ID experts say?

Edit:   Acckk, disregard the above! 

[Hoy]

You have to look at the fruit. If it consists of two carpels with one stigma each it is a sax. They usually have nectar discs too.
If the fruit consists of five (separate) (sometimes less) carpels it is a Crassulaceae.
It is not easy to decide from the pics.

[Howey]

Yes, the picture isn't too clear - no camera is quite as good as the human eye, eh?  Anyway, Hoy, not having a microscope of my own, am sure I can take a closer look at the "fruit" if I take a sample up to the University Herbarium.  The flowers have gone by of course, but there may be a bit of something.  The little plant originally came from friend and co-alpine garden fiend, Andrew Osyany, who used to have a small business distributing seeds imported from Slovakia. 

[Hoy]

In botany a fruit is the part of a plant containing seeds and not only apples. So it is not necessary to use quotation marks.

I think you can observe this with your eye or a magnifying glass.

[McDonough]

I'm go out on a limb here, and suggest this is indeed a Crassulaceae, somehow the foliage just has that look of a Rosularia (now referred variably to either Umbilicus or Prometheum), as do the flowers.  Some Saxifraga can do a really good imitation of a succulent, but I'm still sticking with Rosularia.  The plant is reminiscent of R. platyphylla, but not quite an exact match.
http://flower.onego.ru/anpine/ena_7965.jpg

[Hoy]

I agree with you, Mark. I have a very similar looking plant, Rosularia sedoides, although it is bigger in all aspects.

[Howey]

Guess there are others trying to identify this plant.  There is a picture of it on Village Garden Web where people are invited to guess what it is.  One person identified it as  "a form of Rosularia setulosa Milfordae" and I am inclined to go with that.  However, I still plan to have a better look at it through a microscope.  I appreciate all the input.  Fran

[McDonough]

Guess there are others trying to identify this plant.  There is a picture of it on Village Garden Web where people are invited to guess what it is.  One person identified it as  "a form of Rosularia setulosa Milfordae" and I am inclined to go with that.  However, I still plan to have a better look at it through a microscope.  I appreciate all the input.  Fran

Aha!  I believe your plant is Crassula milfordiae (sometimes put into synonymy with C. setulosa, sometimes not).  I believe the following links should provide a conclusive ID... I wonder if it is hardy, but based on what I read, I think it'll be marginal or tender in tough winter climates, but Frances, it sounds like it is hardy for you, as you say you had it for a while? A very pretty plant though.

http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/images/Jardin%20du%20Haut-Chitelet/crassula_milfordiae.JPG
http://www.mytho-fleurs.com/images/Jardin%20du%20Haut-Chitelet/crassula_milfordiae_2.JPG
http://www.filuna.cz/picture/Filunafotky/Mate%E8nice/Mate%E8nice3/Crassula%20milfordiae1.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crassula_milfordiae_2.jpg
http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crassula_milfordiae_1.jpg
http://www.agreengarden.com/plants/crassula-milfordiae.asp
Winter color: http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/184742/
http://www.franz-alpines.org/g_crassula_milfordiae.html

[McGregor]

The pics you posted links to make it fairly clear that your ID is right - well done. It's a nice plant and obviously can make good cushions. Whereabouts are you Frances, since it's obviously growing well for you?

It's an intriguing example of how plants from different genera or even families can end up with very similar growth habits. It looks very like many saxifrages but there are no saxifrages of any type in South Africa but there are still niches available so something will fill it. Similarly in New Zealand there are a whole range of plants that will fill the same slot.

[Howey]

Thanks so much Mark.  Malcolm, I live in London, Ontario,Canada, zone 5b where we sometimes get temperatures down to 28 below Celsius and the summers are hot, dry and humid.  This Crassula lives in a trough and has even spilled over onto the ground around the trough where it cavorts with a runaway Antennaria - perfectly hardy here.  Fran

[McGregor]

Thanks Fran. That's really intriguing and I must try it - now to find it.

Malcolm

[IMYoung]

Guess there are others trying to identify this plant.  There is a picture of it on Village Garden Web where people are invited to guess what it is.  One person identified it as  "a form of Rosularia setulosa Milfordae" and I am inclined to go with that.  However, I still plan to have a better look at it through a microscope.  I appreciate all the input.  Fran

 Fran, the human eye is a wonderful thing, especially when in good working order, but do not underestimate the power of a digital camera as a tool.... a reasonable close up shot, in focus, may be blown up to terrific magnification on a computer screen and allow us to easily find details that would only have been clear under microscope magnification in previous times.

 Have a look at some of the close-ups in this week's BulbLog from Ian to see some examples.....http://www.srgc.org.uk/logs/logdir/2010Oct071286445417Bulb_log_40.pdf


Cheers,
 Maggi