(golden saxifrage), a genus of perennial herbs of the family Saxifragaceae. The leaves are alternate or opposite, petiolate, and entire. The small, green or yellowish flowers are in apical cymose inflorescences surrounded by bracteal leaves. The perianth consists of a four-parted calyx, and the fruit is a capsule.
There are more than 50 species of golden saxifrage, distributed in nontropical regions of the northern hemisphere and in the temperate zone of South America. The USSR has about 25 species, growing in the arctic, forest and alpine mountain zones. The most common species is C. alternifolium, which grows along damp, shady forests, ravines, and the shores of rivers and streams; its seeds are poisonous. C. alternifolium and C. oppositifolium are cultivated as ornamentals.