This small plant grows in damp places by the side of ditches and on wet
rocks. It is commonest in the north of Britain, but in spring you will
find its soft stems creeping close to the ground in the south of England
also.
The Golden Saxifrage has no petals. The yellow flowers grow at the end
of the stem in small clusters, which are sunk among the leaves.
Each flower has a yellow calyx tube, which is divided at the mouth into
four parts. These divisions are yellow inside, but on the outside they
are green.
There is a ring of tiny stamens standing out all round the mouth of the
calyx tube, and in the very centre of the flower stands a fat
seed-vessel, like a beak, which splits open into halves when the seeds
are ripe.
The leaves of the Golden Saxifrage grow in pairs on each side of a pale
green, juicy stem.
This stem is covered with clear white hairs. The leaves are pale green
and are round in shape, with crinkled edges. They are very soft, and,
like the stem, they have fine white hairs all over them.
When you gather a handful of the Golden Saxifrage you find a great many
slender white roots hanging from the stem wherever it has lain along the
ground.