Saxifraga is the largest genus in the family Saxifragaceae, containing about 440 species of holarctic perennial plants, known as saxifrages or rockfoils. The Latin word saxifraga means literally 'stone-breaker', from Latin saxum ('rock' or 'stone') + frangere ('to break'). It is usually thought to indicate a medicinal use for treatment of urinary calculi (known as kidney or bladder stones), rather than breaking rocks apart.
Most saxifrages are small perennial, biennial (e.g. S. adscendens) or annual ...