| Heartleaved Foamflower | |
|---|---|
| Tiarella cordifolia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Saxifragaceae |
| Genus: | Tiarella |
| Species: | T. cordifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Tiarella cordifolia L. |
|
| Subspecies | |
|
T. c. var. austrina |
|
Tiarella cordifolia syn. Tiarella wherrryi (Heartleaved Foamflower, Allegheny Foamflower, False Miterwort, Coolwort) is a herbaceous plant commonly used as shrubbery. It grows in most kinds of soil and blooms perennially from April to June.
Contents |
Tiarella cordifolia is a herbaceous perennial with a scaly horizontal rhizome and seasonal runners. Its flowers are white, small and feathery and form a long terminal cluster on a leafless stalk. Its inflorescences are 6 to 12 inches tall, with the flowers borne in a close, erect raceme. The flower has 5 petal (entire) and 10 stamens (long and slender), giving the flower cluster a fuzzy appearance. The leaves are basal, long stalked, hairy, with 3-7 shallow lobes, and heart-shaped at the base. The leaves are also 2-4" long, dark green usually motted with brown, rough-hairy above and downy beneath. They have a long flowering stem that can grow as tall as 30 cm high (12 in.). It also has two unequal seed capsules that split along inside seams, releasing several pitted seeds.
The flowers of the Tiarella cordifolia are visited by small bees, syrphus flies, and butterflies that may effect pollination.
It inhabits rich, moist woods from Nova Scotia and Ontario to Minnesota, south in the mountains to Georgia and Alabama. It ascends to 5600 ft. in Virginia. It is also found westward scarcely in Mississippi. It is replaced in the West by the Tiarella unifoliata.
Tiarella meaning a little tiara, is a diminutive of the Greek word tiara meaning turban. The genus name refers to the unequal seedpods. Cordifolia, heart-shaped refers to the shape of the leaves.
It is listed in herbology as a tonic and a diuretic. It has been used for kidney problems, liver problems, and congestion of the lungs. This species is sometimes available from commercial greenhouses and is used by gardeners.
Cox, Donald. Common Flowering Plants of the Northeast. Albany: SUNY Press, 1985. 120. Print.
Blanchan, Neltje. Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Page and Company, 1934. 91. Print.
Moldenke, Harold M. . American Wild Flowers. Toronto: D. Van Nostrand Company Inc., 1949. 55. Print.
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20m?act=make_map&kind=Tiarella+cordifolia