Heuchera americana var. hispida

(Pursh) E. F. Wells

Rhodora 81: 576. 1979 ,.

Common names: Stiffly short-hair or hairy alum-root
Basionym: Heuchera hispida Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept. 1: 188. 1813
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 95. Mentioned on page 94, 96.

Petioles glabrous or very short stipitate-glandular. Flowers: hypanthium free 1.5–2 mm, campanulate; petals purple or pink, wider than sepals, margins fimbriate. 2n = 14.


Phenology: Flowering Apr–Jun.
Habitat: Rich woods often over base-saturated granite and gneiss, or in shallow rocky soil
Elevation: 200-1300 m

Distribution

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Md., N.C., Va., W.Va.

Discussion

Variety hispida occurs in the mountains and hills of western Maryland and Virginia, eastern West Virginia, and Surry County, North Carolina, where var. americana and Heuchera pubescens overlap; it is intermediate between var. americana and H. pubescens in floral characters. Variety hispida was confused with H. richardsonii for almost a century, beginning in 1849 when Gray reduced H. richardsonii to synonymy under H. hispida, after some seeds of H. richardsonii germinated among H. hispida plants in a labeled plot and later replaced them (C. O. Rosendahl et al. 1933).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.
Elizabeth Fortson Wells +  and Barbara Greene Shipes +
- Pursh E. F. Wells +
Heuchera hispida +
Stiffly short-hair or hairy alum-root +
Md. +, N.C. +, Va. +  and W.Va. +
200-1300 m +
Rich woods often over base-saturated granite and gneiss, or in shallow rocky soil +
Flowering Apr–Jun. +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
Heuchera americana var. hispida +
Heuchera americana +
variety +