The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

gooseberry-leaf alumroot

cave alumroot, little-flower alum-root

Habit Herbs acaulescent; caudex branched. Herbs acaulescent; caudex branched or unbranched.
Flowering stems

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

9–45 cm, short to long stipitate-glandular, 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 usually long stipitate-glandular, sometimes short stipitate-glandular;

blade (often purple abaxially), reniform to orbiculate, shallowly 5–7-lobed, 3–13 cm, base cordate, lobes rounded, margins crenate, apex obtuse, surfaces short or long stipitate-glandular abaxially, short stipitate-glandular adaxially, 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 0.3 mm, white or pink, obconic, 1.2–3.2 mm, short or moderately long stipitate-glandular;

sepals erect, green-tipped, equal, 0.5–1.3 mm, apex rounded;

petals reflexed, white or pink, narrowly oblanceolate, unlobed, 1.5–3.5 mm, margins entire;

stamens exserted 1.2–3.2 mm;

styles exserted 1–3 mm, 1.5–4 mm, to 0.1 mm diam.

Capsules

ovoid, 5 mm, beaks divergent, not papillose.

ovoid, 2–5.7 mm, (minutely stipitate-glandular or glabrous), beaks divergent, not papillose.

Seeds

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6 mm.

dark brown, ovoid, 0.4–0.6 mm, smooth.

2n

= 14, 28.

Heuchera grossulariifolia

Heuchera parviflora

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
AL; AR; IL; IN; KY; MO; MS; NC; SC; TN; VA; WV
[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 2 (2 in the flora).

The specific epithet, parviflora, is similar to that of another species, Heuchera parvifolia, but these two species are distinct and have different legitimate names. The varieties of H. parviflora are not sympatric. The species merits phylogenetic study. The Blackfoot Indians applied a poultice of the pounded root to sores and swellings (D. E. Moerman 1998).

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

Key
1. Petioles and hypanthia sparsely to densely long stipitate-glandular; leaf blades sparsely to densely long stipitate-glandular abaxially, hairs 0.7- 2.5 mm.
var. parviflora
1. Petioles and hypanthia densely short stipitate- glandular; leaf blades densely short stipitate-glandular abaxially, hairs to 0.6 mm.
var. puberula
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 103. FNA vol. 8, p. 90.
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. micrantha, H. novamexicana, H. parishii, H. parvifolia, H. pilosissima, H. pubescens, H. pulchella, H. richardsonii, H. rubescens, H. sanguinea, H. villosa, H. wootonii
Subordinate taxa
H. parviflora var. parviflora, H. parviflora var. puberula
Synonyms H. cusickii, H. grossulariifolia var. tenuifolia, H. tenuifolia
Name authority Rydberg: Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 1: 196. (1900) Bartling: Index Seminum (Göttingen) 1838: 4. 1838 ,
Web links