Flora of North America species comparison

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Tiarella trifoliata

Tiarella trifoliata var. unifoliata

cut-leaf foamflower (var. laciniata), foamflower, lace flower, one-leaf foamflower (var. unifoliata), sugar-scoop, three-leaf foam-flower, three-leaf foamflower (var. trifoliata)
Photo is of parent taxon

foamflower, one-leaf foam-flower, simple-leaf foamflower
Flowering stems

10–70 cm

Basal leaves

usually simple;

blade 2–9 × 3–10 cm;

leaflets sessile, deeply to shallowly lobed.
Cauline leaves

rarely 3-foliolate;

blade 2 × 3 cm;

leaflet lobes ca. 1/2 length of leaflet, distal segments laciniate.
2n

= 14.

Tiarella trifoliata

Tiarella trifoliata var. unifoliata
Phenology Flowering Jun–Sep.
Habitat Moist, dense woods
Elevation 300-1900 m (1000-6200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; ID; MT; OR; WA; AB; BC
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 3 (3 in the flora).

Varieties of Tiarella trifoliata have overlapping ranges and differ from each other in leaf form and marginal dissection. Their floral features are stable throughout. They were previously suspected of hybridizing when sympatric. They are differentiated along elevational gradients and often remain distinct in sympatric populations.

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

Variety unifoliata is relatively uniform throughout its range. Locally in Alberta, it grades into a more deeply lobed leaf form.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Basal leaves usually simple; cauline leaves rarely trifoliolate, shallowly to deeply lobed, leaflets sessile.
var. unifoliata
1. Basal leaves 3-foliolate; cauline leaves 3-foliolate; leaflets deeply lobed, petiolulate
→ 2
2. Leaflet lobes to 1/2 length of leaflet, distal segments not laciniate.
var. trifoliata
2. Leaflet lobes more than 1/2 length of leaflet, distal segments laciniate.
var. laciniata
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 115. FNA vol. 8, p. 116.
Parent taxa Saxifragaceae > Tiarella Saxifragaceae > Tiarella > Tiarella trifoliata
Sibling taxa
T. cordifolia
T. trifoliata var. laciniata, T. trifoliata var. trifoliata
Subordinate taxa
T. trifoliata var. laciniata, T. trifoliata var. trifoliata, T. trifoliata var. unifoliata
Synonyms T. unifoliata, T. trifoliata subsp. unifoliata
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 406. 1753 , (Hooker) Kurtz: Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 19: 378. (1894)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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