saxifrage

[ sak-suh-frij ]

noun

1. any plant of the genus Saxifraga, certain species of which grow wild in the clefts of rocks, other species of which are cultivated for their flowers.

saxifrage

/ ˈsæksɪˌfreɪdʒ /

noun

1. any saxifragaceous plant of the genus Saxifraga, characterized by smallish white, yellow, purple, or pink flowers

Word History and Origins

Origin of saxifrage¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin saxifraga ( herba ) stone-breaking (herb), equivalent to saxi-, combining form of saxum stone + -fraga, feminine of -fragus breaking; fragile

Word History and Origins

Origin of saxifrage¹

C15: from Late Latin saxifraga, literally: rock-breaker (probably alluding to its ability to dissolve kidney stones), from Latin saxum rock + frangere to break

Example Sentences

His goal, working with the National Trust and Natural Resource Wales, is to restore some of that biodiversity by re-introducing the extinct rosy saxifrage - a plant he calls a mountain jewel - to Eryri or Snowdonia.

From BBC

Springy moss, purple and yellow saxifrage, and a type of buttercup stay within centimetres of the ground.

From The Guardian

The grots and rocky walls were already starred with saxifrages and stonecrops.

From Literature

And in confirmation, a little Arctic flower, a purple saxifrage, blossomed improbably where the witch had planted it as a signal in a cranny of the rock.

From Literature

Glints of colour, purple saxifrage, sphagnum moss, the reddening leaves of the bilberry.

From BBC