Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Saxifragales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Tiarella wherryi
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Five species of Tiarella are present in the eastern United States! The main features distinguishing them are presence/absence of stolons, shape of the basal leaves, and presence/absence of leaves on the flowering stem. When the plants are sorted by these physical characters, the five entities are remarkably consistent in geography, showing sharp boundaries with very little overlap. Each of the five tiarellas fits the generally understood definition of “species” – a population system distinct in appearance from others and genetically discrete, forming few or no hybrids with other population systems. Read more in New Species of Foamflower (Nesom, 2022).
SYNONYMOUS WITH Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA (Nesom, 2021)
Tiarella wherryi
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Tiarella cordifolia
INCLUDED WITHIN Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Tiarella cordifolia var. collina
SYNONYMOUS WITH Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Tiarella wherryi
COMMON NAME:
Wherry's Foamflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm090405_039
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Plants without stolons. Leaves usually about as long as wide, terminal lobe not extended, per New Species of Foamflower (Nesom, 2022).
COMPARE
Alumroot, Foamflower, and Miterwort
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_t_cordifolia_29
April
5 petals, 10 long stamens, borne on a terminal raceme to 6" long on a leafless stalk, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Steve Marlow snm090405_008
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
Flowering stem without leaves or leaf-like bracts, per New Species of Foamflower (Nesom, 2022).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Tiarella wherryi
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA (Nesom, 2021)
Tiarella wherryi
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Tiarella cordifolia
INCLUDED WITHIN
Manual of Vascular Plants of NE US & Adjacent Canada (Gleason & Cronquist,1991)
Tiarella cordifolia var. collina
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Gray's Manual of Botany (Fernald, 1950)
Tiarella wherryi
4804
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, cove forests, rock outcrops, well-drained bottomland forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to Georgia
Uncommon in GA Mountains & GA Piedmont (rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Nonstoloniferous
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White
Radially symmetrical
4-5 lobed calyx with campanulate tube
5 petals
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p117?
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p180?
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p326?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p115?
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p144?
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".