This is a wildflower which is only found in Kerry and West Cork, in damp, rocky places. It is very similar to Saxifraga spathularis – aka London Pride – the main difference being it the leaves. In this plant, which grows to about 30cm tall, the leaves are round, toothed, kidney-shaped, not long and spoon-shaped like those of London Pride; also the erect, hairy flower-stems don't arise from such a compact rosette as in that plant. The small flowers (7-8mm across) are white or very pale pink and bloom from May to July. London Pride is also known as St Patrick's Cabbage and hybrids between the two plants are known to happen. This is a native plant, part of the Lusitanian species, and it belongs to the family Saxifragaceae.
I found this plant growing by the side of a narrow road at Dohilla, Co Kerry in June 2008 during the worst week of wet weather for a long, long time. The photographs were taken under very adverse conditions as can be seen from the results. Maybe next year will be better.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
