Saxifraga (saksifraga)

[NL. (Tournefort, 1700): see saxifrage.] A genus of polypetalous plants popularly known as saxifrage, type of the order Saxifragaceæ and tribe Saxifra geæ. It is characterized by a two-celled ovary maturing into a small two-beaked and two-celled many-seeded pod, with the placentæ in the axis, and by flowers with a five lobed calyx, five equal petals, and ten stamens, with slender filaments and two-celled anthers. There are about 180 species, chiefly natives of cold regions, especially high mountains and in arctic latitudes, chiefly of the northern hemisphere, rare in South America and in Asia. They are usually perennials, with a radical rosette of broad leaves, and varying in habit from erect to prostrate, and from very smooth to glandular-hairy. Their flowers are small, but of conspicuous numbers, usually white or yellow, and panicled or corymbed. About 50 species are found in North America, nearly half of which occur also in the Old World; excluding Alaska, 30 species are known within the United States, natives especially of mountains of New England and Colorado, only 3 descending into the plains, and but 1 in the mountains south of North Carolina. They increase rapidly northward, and 25 or more are reported from Alaska, 9 of which extend to its most northern limit, Point Barrow, at 71° 27′. S. oppos it i folia, the purple saxifrage, is perhaps the most characteristic and widely distributed plant of the arctic regions, where it is almost universal, and often the first flower to bloom, producing from four to nine pink or dark-purple petals, ranging from sea-level to 1,900 feet, and extending from northern Vermont to the farthest north yet reached, 83° 24'. See saxifrage. Saxifragaceæ (saksi-fra-gā sē-ē), n. pl. [NL. (A. P. de Candolle, 1830), IMG:content-0188.png:[blocks in formation] (sak" si-fra-gā -gā'shius), a. [ saxifrage (L. saxifraga ) + -aceous .] Belonging to the Saxifragaceæ . saxifragal (sak-sif ra-gal), a. [ saxifrage (L. saxifraga ) + -al.] 1. Like or pertaining to saxifrage.-2. Typified by the order Saxifra gaceæ: as, the saxifragal alliance. Lindley. saxifragant (sak-sif'ra-gant), a. and n. [L. sax if ragus, stone-breaking (see saxifrage ), + -ant.] I. a. Breaking or destroying stones; lithotritic. Also saxifragous. [Rare.] II. n. That which breaks or destroys stones. [Rare.] saxifrage (sak'si-frāj), n. [ E. sa afras ) = Pg. saxifraga, saxifra gia = It. sa if raga, sa if ragi a, The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia: The Century dictionary saxifrage a stone, rock (prob. Flowering Plant of Saxi 5363 While on yon plain The Saxon rears one shock of grain,... The Gael, of plain and river heir, Shall, with strong hand, redeem his share. Where live the mountain Chiefs who hold That plundering Lowland field and fold Is aught but retribution true? Scott, L. of the L., v. 7. (c) An English man, as distinguished from an Irish man. [Ireland.] Ca idy, before retiring, would a uredly intimate his approaching resignation to scores of gentlemen of his nation, who would not object to take the Saxon's pay until they finally shook his yoke off. Thackeray , Philip, xxx. 3. A native or an inhabitant of Saxony in its later German sense. The modern Saxon lands are in central Germany, and comprise the kingdom of Saxony, the grand duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the duchies of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Me in in gen, and part of the province of Saxony in Pru ia. 4. The language of the Saxons; Anglo-Saxon; by extension, modern English speech of Saxonor Anglo-Saxon origin; English diction composed mainly of Saxon words, and not Latinized or of cla ical or other origin. See Anglo - Saxon. Abbreviated Sax. - 5. In entom., the noctuid moth sailor, and Chinese saxifrage. S. fruit. Virgin i ens is is a common spring the flower in eastern North America. - Burnet-saxifrage, a common Old World plant, Pimp in ell a Saxifraga, with garden burnet. young IMG:content-0190.jpg:[ocr errors] IMG:content-0191.jpg:[ocr errors] diuretic, and stomachic properties. The great burnet Golden saxifrage, a plant of the genus Chrysoplenium saxifrage is P. magna, a similar but larger of the saxifrage family; especially C. oppos it i folium of the Old World, with golden-yellow flowers. The species are small smooth herbs of temperate regions. - Lettuce saxifrage. See lettuce - saxifrage. - Meadow-saxifrage. (a) Saxifraga granulata, a common white-flowered European species. (b) See meadow-saxifrage.-Mo y saxifrage, the European Saxifraga hypnoides, sometimes called lady's-cushion. See def. above. - Pepper-saxifrage. Same as meadow - saxifrage, 1. - Swamp-saxifrage, S. Pennsylvanica, a plant a foot or two high, with rather long tongue-like leaves and greenish flowers, found in bogs in the northern United States. Saxifrageæ (sak-si-frā jē-ē), n. pl. [NL. (Ventenat, 1794), saxifragine (sak-sif'ra-jin), n. [ L.sax if ragus, stone-breaking (see saxifrage ), + -ine2.] 1. A gunpowder in which sulphur is replaced by barium nitrate. According to Cundill's "Dictionary of Explosives," it contains 77 parts of barium nitrate, 21 parts of charcoal, and 2 parts of sodium nitrate. 2. A name for a grade of dynamite.