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Saxifrage
Saxifrage, common name for a family of flowering plants and for its representative genus. The family contains about 36 genera and 475 species of usually perennial herbs, subcosmopolitan in distribution but found especially in North Temperate and colder regions. Members of the family include important ornamentals such as astilbes, coralbells, bergenias, and the alpine saxifrages, many of which are alpines.
Saxifrage flowers usually have five sepals and five petals. The latter are often clawed or dissected, or small and inconspicuous. The gynoecium is composed of two to five carpels that are usually fused at the base. The fruit is a capsule, usually with many small seeds.
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