Saxifraga granulata

Perennial of the Saxifragaceae family, section Saxifraga. Widely spread in Western and Central Europe, it is present in France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, and up to Scandinavia. It is not a strictly mountainous plant and is mainly found in poor meadows, dry to fresh lawns, grassy banks, clear undergrowth, and roadsides, from the plain up to submontane levels.

Its most singular feature is the presence, at the base of the stems and at the collar of the leaves, of small whitish bulbils in the shape of granules, which give it its name and ensure its vegetative reproduction. The basal leaves are kidney-shaped to heart-shaped, long-petioled, crenate, medium green, slightly hairy, and sticky to the touch.

The flowering stems, reddish and glandular, rise to 15–40 cm and bear loose cymes of pure white flowers, with five well-developed and rounded petals, with a yellow-green heart of stamens. The flower, of great clarity, is one of the most elegant among the plain saxifrages. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from April to June.

In cultivation, it is suitable for flowering meadows, sunny edges, clear undergrowth, and natural gardens on fresh to well-drained soil. It disappears in summer after fructification, with the bulbils ensuring the autumnal resumption.