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urn-flower alum-root

gooseberry-leaf alumroot

Habit Herbs subcaulescent; caudex branched. Herbs acaulescent; caudex branched.
Flowering stems

10–40 cm, sparsely medium stipitate-glandular.

15–65 cm, glabrous or short stipitate-glandular.

Leaves

petiole long stipitate-glandular;

blade reniform or orbiculate, shallowly 5-lobed, 1.5–3.5 cm, base cordate or truncate, lobes rounded, margins dentate, apex obtuse, surfaces short or long stipitate-glandular.

petiole glabrous or short stipitate-glandular;

blade cordate or orbiculate, shallowly 3–5-lobed, 1–7 cm, base cordate, lobes rounded, margins dentate, apex obtuse, surfaces glabrous or short stipitate-glandular.

Inflorescences

dense, interrupted.

Flowers

hypanthium strongly bilaterally symmetric, free 3–3.5 mm on adaxial side, pink to purplish, narrowly cylindric or cylindric-urceolate, 4–7 mm, short stipitate-glandular proximally, densely long stipitate-glandular distally;

sepals spreading, green-tipped, unequal, 2 mm on adaxial side of hypanthium, apex obtuse or rounded;

petals spreading, white, broadly oblanceolate, (clawed), unlobed, 3–4 mm (longer than sepals), margins entire;

stamens included 0.5 mm to exserted 0.5 mm;

styles included to 2 mm, 1.5–2 mm, 0.1+ mm diam.

hypanthium weakly bilaterally symmetric, free 1.2–1.9 mm, cream, broadly campanulate, 4–7 mm, short stipitate-glandular;

sepals erect, often red-tipped, equal, 2 mm, apex rounded;

petals erect, pink or white, spatulate to narrowly oblanceolate, (clawed), unlobed, 1–3 mm, margins entire;

stamens included 1.5 mm; (filaments strongly incurved, shorter than and almost concealed by anthers);

styles included to 1 mm, 0.5 mm, 0.1+ mm diam.

Capsules

urceolate, 4–6 mm, beaks divergent, not papillose.

ovoid, 5 mm, beaks divergent, not papillose.

Seeds

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.7 mm.

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6 mm.

Inflorescenses

dense.

2n

= 14, 28.

Heuchera elegans

Heuchera grossulariifolia

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Rocky sites in yellow pine and red fir forests Grassy hillsides, rocky canyon walls, alpine talus slopes
Elevation 1500-2600 m (4900-8500 ft) 100-3400 m (300-11200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Heuchera elegans occurs in the mountains of southern California, chiefly in the San Gabriel Range in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties and vicinity. It resembles H. caespitosa. This group is in need of phylogenetic study.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Heuchera grossulariifolia includes both diploids and autotetraploids. K. A. Segraves and J. N. Thompson (1999) analyzed floral traits and flowering phenology in diploid and autotetraploid plants. Overall, plant size was greater in tetraploids than in diploids; flowers of tetraploids were larger (average hypanthium 6.5 mm) than those of diploids (average hypanthium 5.5 mm) and had a slightly different shape and phenology, but the diploids and tetraploids were not assigned taxonomic status in their study. Diploids and tetraploids were mixed in some populations, where characters intergraded (D. E. Soltis, pers. comm.). The autotetraploids have had two to seven independent origins from diploid progenitors, and do not represent a monophyletic lineage (Segraves and Thompson; Segraves et al. 1999).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 100. FNA vol. 8, p. 103.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Heuchera Saxifragaceae > Heuchera
Sibling taxa
H. abramsii, H. alba, H. americana, H. bracteata, H. brevistaminea, H. caespitosa, H. caroliniana, H. chlorantha, H. cylindrica, H. eastwoodiae, H. glabra, H. glomerulata, H. grossulariifolia, H. hallii, H. hirsutissima, H. longiflora, H. maxima, H. merriamii, H. micrantha, H. novamexicana, H. parishii, H. parviflora, H. parvifolia, H. pilosissima, H. pubescens, H. pulchella, H. richardsonii, H. rubescens, H. sanguinea, H. villosa, H. wootonii
H. abramsii, H. alba, H. americana, H. bracteata, H. brevistaminea, H. caespitosa, H. caroliniana, H. chlorantha, H. cylindrica, H. eastwoodiae, H. elegans, H. glabra, H. glomerulata, H. hallii, H. hirsutissima, H. longiflora, H. maxima, H. merriamii, H. micrantha, H. novamexicana, H. parishii, H. parviflora, H. parvifolia, H. pilosissima, H. pubescens, H. pulchella, H. richardsonii, H. rubescens, H. sanguinea, H. villosa, H. wootonii
Synonyms H. cusickii, H. grossulariifolia var. tenuifolia, H. tenuifolia
Name authority Abrams: Bull. S. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 67. 1902 , Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 196. (1900)
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