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gooseberry-leaf alumroot

alum root, crevice alum-root, small-flower alumroot

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

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

6–57 cm, short to long stipitate-glandular or glabrous, viscid.

Leaves

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.

petiole glabrous or sparsely to densely short to long stipitate-glandular;

blade orbiculate to polygonal, shallowly to deeply 5–7(–9)-lobed, 2.5–10 cm, base cordate, lobes rounded, margins dentate, apex rounded or obtuse, surfaces glabrous or short to long stipitate-glandular, viscid.

Inflorescences

dense, interrupted.

diffuse.

Flowers

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.

hypanthium radially symmetric, free to 1.5 mm, greenish white, often tinged with red, obconic to hemispheric, broadly turbinate, or campanulate, 1–4.9 mm, long stipitate-glandular, sometimes short stipitate-glandular proximally;

sepals spreading to nearly erect, green- or red-tipped, equal, 0.5–1.8 mm, apex rounded to acute or mucronate;

petals often coiled, white or pale pink, oblanceolate, (narrowly clawed), unlobed, 1.6–3.3 mm (2–3 times as long as sepals), margins entire;

stamens exserted to 3 mm;

styles exserted to 2.5 mm, 0.2–4.2 mm, to 0.1 mm diam.

Capsules

ovoid, 5 mm, beaks divergent, not papillose.

ovoid, 3–8.5 mm, beaks divergent, not papillose.

Seeds

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6 mm.

black, broadly ellipsoid, (not curved), 0.5–0.8 mm.

2n

= 14, 28.

Heuchera grossulariifolia

Heuchera micrantha

Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Grassy hillsides, rocky canyon walls, alpine talus slopes
Elevation 100-3400 m (300-11200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MT; NV; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Varieties 5 (5 in the flora).

The Skagit Indians rubbed pounded plants of Heuchera micrantha on hair to make it grow and applied it to cuts. The Thompson Indians used a mashed poultice of this root mixed with Douglas fir pitch for wounds. Chewed leaves and roots were spat on sores or wounds. Infusions of roots were taken for liver trouble and sore throat. Small, peeled, cleaned root pieces were chewed for mouth sores and gum boils (D. E. Moerman 1998).

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

Key
1. Leaf blades orbiculate to pentagonal, shallowly lobed.
var. micrantha
1. Leaf blades pentagonal or heptagonal, deeply lobed
→ 2
2. Inflorescences short stipitate-glandular; petioles short stipitate-glandular or sparsely long stipitate-glandular
→ 3
2. Inflorescences long stipitate-glandular; petioles short to long stipitate-glandular
→ 4
3. Hypanthia hemispheric, 1 times long as wide; petals 0.4-1.4 mm wide.
var. macropetala
3. Hypanthia obconic, 1.4 times longer than wide; petals 0.2-0.6 mm wide.
var. erubescens
4. Hypanthia long stipitate-glandular, sepal apex rounded to acute.
var. hartwegii
4. Hypanthia sparsely long stipitate-glandular, sepal apex acute to mucronate
var. diversifolia
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 103. FNA vol. 8, p. 91.
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. 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
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. grossulariifolia, H. hallii, H. hirsutissima, H. longiflora, H. maxima, H. merriamii, H. novamexicana, H. parishii, H. parviflora, H. parvifolia, H. pilosissima, H. pubescens, H. pulchella, H. richardsonii, H. rubescens, H. sanguinea, H. villosa, H. wootonii
Subordinate taxa
H. micrantha var. diversifolia, H. micrantha var. erubescens, H. micrantha var. hartwegii, H. micrantha var. macropetala, H. micrantha var. micrantha
Synonyms H. cusickii, H. grossulariifolia var. tenuifolia, H. tenuifolia
Name authority Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 196. (1900) Douglas ex Lindley: Edwards’s Bot. Reg. 15: plate 1302. 1830 ,
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