In an attempt to clarify subtribal relationships in tribe Saxifrageae, chromosome numbers and karyotypes were determined for the two species comprising subtribe Leptarrheninae: Leptarrhena pyrolifolia and Tanakaea radicans. In both species 2n = 14, a common chromosome number throughout Saxifrageae. The two species have distinctive karyotypes that appear to differ in the centromeric positions of three pairs of chromosomes. These findings, in conjunction with earlier studies, demonstrate that genera of Saxifrageae often differ karyotypically. Leptarrhena exhibits considerable karyotypic similarity to genera of subtribe Saxifraginae characterized by a base chromosome number of x = 7. Chromosomal data, therefore, do not clearly differentiate subtribes Saxifraginae and Leptarrheninae. This observation is in agreement with evidence from paly-nology and flavonoid chemistry. Karyotypic studies continue to demonstrate the conservative nature of chromosomal evolution in tribe Saxifrageae.