Golden-leaved, Opposite-leaved

Information on Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage

Common Name: Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage
Scientific Name: Chrysosplenium oppositifolium
Irish Name: Glóiris
Family Group: Saxifragaceae
Distribution: View Map (Courtesy of the BSBI)
Flowering Period


Click for list of all flowering by month
Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage is not easily confused with other wild plants on this web site.


Opposite-leaved Golden-saxifrage is found throughout Ireland beside shady streams and in damp woodland and is a mat-forming perennial wildflower which forms a carpet of low-growing yellow-green vegetation.  Its tiny flowers (3-5mm across) don't have petals but instead they have four yellow-green sepals surrounding bright yellow stamens.  They bloom from March to July in flat-topped clusters and are backed by green-yellow bracts.  The round leaves are short-stalked and in opposite pairs and the whole plant rarely exceeds 15cm in height.  This is a native plant which belongs to the Saxifragaceae family.   

My first record of this little plant is in 1989 in the Devil's Glen, Co Wicklow and I photographed it beside a stream in Old Bridge, Co Wicklow in 2008.

If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre

Golden-leaved, Opposite-leaved
Golden-leaved, Opposite-leaved
Golden-leaved, Opposite-leaved
Golden-leaved, Opposite-leaved