(fireleaf leptarrhena)
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Photo of Leptarrhena pyrolifolia by Leslie A. Viereck
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Fireleaf leptarrhena is an alpine plant, rare on the north side of the Alaska Range in Denali but more common to the south, with leathery basal leaves and a tall flowering stalk bearing a small cluster of fine white flowers. The stem is slender, reddish, 10-25 cm tall. The basal leaves are
ovate and evenly
serrate, in a cluster parallel to the ground. Stems have one or two leaves, close to the base, and a
bract below the
inflorescence. The
inflorescence is a dense branched
cyme at the top of the stem with many small flowers. The white petals are
linear, 1-2 mm long, alternated with the similarly-colored
stamens (with orange or peach
anthers), surrounding two
carpels. From a distance, the
inflorescence looks fuzzy. Fireleaf leptarrhena looks similar to some other members of the saxifrage family, such as
Micranthes reflexa, but it can be distinguished by its shiny and leathery evergreen leaves.
Fireleaf leptarrhena is a perennial species. The evergreen leaves turn dark red in fall, regaining their color in spring. The flowers appear in early to mid-summer.
Little is known about the pollination or dispersal biology of this species. Plants are
monoecious with bisexual flowers. Uniquely, the
anthers split open at the tips to release their pollen, instead of along a longitudinal seam. The fruit is a dry
capsule. Seeds germinate after being sown in the fall (
Weisberg 1993).
Leptarrhena pyrolifolia is endemic to western North America, occurring in the Pacific Northwest from Alaska to the western Northwest Territories, south to Montana, Idaho and Oregon. In Alaska, this species range reaches its northern limit in Denali, occurring in the southern region of the state from the far Aleutians through Kodiak, the Kenai Peninsula and Chugach Mountains to the Southeast panhandle. It reaches inland to the Kilbuck-Kuskokwim Mountains and along the south slopes of the Alaska Range. In Denali, L. pyrolifolia is rare in the alpine zone north of the Alaska Range crest, but relatively common on the southern slopes of the range.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right, depicting recent Denali data.
This species grows on low slopes, with the average incline at 11 degrees, typically on southern aspects. Its elevational niche is subalpine to alpine, growing from 534 to 1402 m, with an average of 937 m.
Details are shown in the Plots & Charts found at right. For more on how to interpret these figures, visit Understanding Data Presented.
Fireleaf grows in moist to mesic situations, in meadows and gullies, near ponds, and in snow-bed communities.
Moist sites.
