Saxifraga nelsoniana
D. Don
Brook saxifrage, Heartleaf saxifrage
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Steve Ansell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Steve Ansell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
iNaturalist· cc-by-nc
(c) Steve Ansell, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Description
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. The stems are 22-33 cm tall. The leaves are in a ring at the base. The leaf stalk is 4-11 cm long. The leaves are kidney shaped or heart shaped and 2-6 cm long by 2-7 cm wide. They have large pointed teeth along the edge. There are hairs underneath the leaf. The leaves are dark green on the upper surface and reddish-brown underneath. There is a single flowering stem 10-25 cm tall. The flowers are small and have 5 sepals and 5 petals. They are white and in clusters often forming a ball shaped head.
Edible Uses
Young leaves are eaten raw with oil or preserved in oil, traditionally served with meat. Flowers flavor seal oil.
Traditional Uses
The young leaves are eaten raw with oil. The leaves can be preserved in oil for later use. They leaves are eaten with meat. The flowers are also used to flavour seal oil.
Distribution
It is a temperate plant. It grows in the moist tundra in Alaska. In northern China it grows between 1,700-2,300 m above sea level.
Where It Grows
Alaska, Asia, China, Korea, Mongolia, North America, Russia, Siberia, USA,
Other Information
The leaves are commonly used in Tundra regions.
Notes
Fresh plants are rich in Vitamin C and provitamin A.
Synonyms
Also Known As
Aml'yukirak, Siiqnaq, Siknak
References (5)
- Ager, T. A. & Ager, L. P., 1980, Ethnobotany of the eskimos of Nelson Island, Alaska. Arctic Anthropology Vol 17. No. 1 pp 26-48
- Ainana, L. & Zagrebin, I., 2014, Edible Plants Used by the Siberian Yupik Eskimos of Southeastern Chukotka Peninsula, Russia, (English translation). p 28 (As Micranthes nelsoniana)
- Flora of China @ efloras.org Volume 8
- Jernigan, K. A., et al, 2017, Naukan ethnobotany in post-Soviet times: lost edibles and new medicinals. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2017) 13:61
- Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 521
