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

Canyon Creek alumroot, Merriam's alumroot

downy alum-root

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

11–32 cm, long stipitate-glandular or glabrate.

often leafy, 30–95 cm, short stipitate-glandular.

Leaves

petiole (2.4–5 cm), moderately long stipitate-glandular;

blade orbiculate, reniform, or pentagonal, shallowly 5–7-lobed, 2.5–4.5 cm, base shallowly cordate to truncate, lobes rounded, margins dentate, apex rounded to obtuse, surfaces finely long stipitate-glandular abaxially, sparsely long stipitate-glandular adaxially.

petiole glabrous or short stipitate-glandular;

blade broadly ovate to cordate, shallowly 5-lobed, 3–9 cm, base cordate to nearly truncate, lobes rounded to widely ovate, margins dentate, apex acute or obtuse, surfaces glabrous or sparsely short stipitate-glandular, at least on veins abaxially.

Inflorescences

dense; (bracts linear and scarious to 3–5-parted and herbaceous).

diffuse.

Flowers

hypanthium radially symmetric, free 0.5–1.5 mm, pink, hemispheric, 3–5.5 mm, (base rounded), densely long stipitate-glandular;

sepals erect, green- or red-tipped, equal, 1–2 mm (often wider than long), apex obtuse;

petals erect, white, oblanceolate, (clawed), unlobed, 2–3.5 mm, margins entire;

stamens exserted 0.8–2 mm;

styles exserted 1–2 mm, 1.5–2.5 mm, 0.1+ mm diam.

hypanthium moderately bilaterally symmetric, free 2–6.2 mm, green, campanulate, abruptly inflated distal to adnation to ovary, 5.5–13.2 mm, very short stipitate-glandular;

sepals spreading, green-tipped, equal, 2–4.2 mm, apex rounded (sinuses narrower than petals);

petals inflexed, pink or purple, broadly spatulate, unlobed, 2.4–4.4 mm, margins fimbriate;

stamens 1.1 mm included to 3.7 mm exserted;

styles from 0.6 mm included to 3 mm exserted, 4–6 mm, to 0.1 mm diam.

Capsules

ovoid, 3–5 mm, beaks divergent, not papillose.

ovoid, 7–11 mm, not papillose.

Seeds

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6 mm.

dark brown, ellipsoid, 0.6–1 mm.

2n

= 14.

= 14.

Heuchera merriamii

Heuchera pubescens

Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug. Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Exposed granite ledges in subalpine forests Shaded circumneutral rock outcroppings, ledges, and rocky cuts
Elevation 1500-2500 m (4900-8200 ft) 100-1400 m (300-4600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
MD; NC; PA; SC; VA; WV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Heuchera merriamii is known from the Siskiyou and Trinity mountains.

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

Heuchera pubescens intergrades with H. americana where their ranges overlap, primarily in the central Appalachians of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia; the intergrading form is recognized here as H. americana var. hispida. It is rare in South Carolina.

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

Source FNA vol. 8, p. 93. FNA vol. 8, p. 95.
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. grossulariifolia, H. hallii, H. hirsutissima, H. longiflora, H. maxima, 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. parviflora, H. parvifolia, H. pilosissima, H. pulchella, H. richardsonii, H. rubescens, H. sanguinea, H. villosa, H. wootonii
Synonyms H. pubescens var. brachyandra
Name authority Eastwood: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 32: 199. 1905 (as merriami), Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 187. (1813)
Web links