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). good number of species grow in glacial habitat, such as S. biflora which can be found some 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level in the Alps, or the East Greenland Saxifrage (S. nathorstii).