Kingdom Plantae Family Saxifragaceae Scientific name Saxifraga nivalis Rank Species | Order Saxifragales Genus Micranthes Higher classification Rockfoils | |
 | ||
Similar Rockfoils, Saxifraga cernua, Saxifraga rivularis, Micranthes hieracifolia, Saxifraga cespitosa | ||
Micranthes nivalis is a species of saxifrage. It is commonly called snow saxifrage or (ambiguously) "alpine saxifrage".
Found on irrigated rocks or open vegetation in shaded sites, often on mountain ledges and crags with base rich substratum. This species is not very tolerant of competition and so is found in damp crevasses where it survives in small pockets. M. nivalis is a perennial species which has been found to set seed in Scotland but not in Cumbria where the populations are small and threatened.
This species is also found in Norway, Ireland Svalbard, northern Germany, Russia, Canada, Alaska and Greenland.
The plant was first described by Carl Linnaeus in Flora Lapponica (1737), as a result of his Lapland voyage.
Some populations from the Canadian Province of Quebec have been recognized as a distinct species by some authors, a variety of M. nivalis others:
is distinguished from var. nivalis by smaller inflorescences and narrower leaves. It is known only from the Shickshock Mountains of the Gaspé Peninsula of southeastern Québec. It has been suggested that this may be a hybrid of M. nivalis and M. tenuis; further study is warranted.