Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Saxifragales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Tiarella austrina
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This is a newly described species, described by Nesom in 2021. Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
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 austrina
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Tiarella cordifolia
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-12-001b?:
Tiarella cordifolia var. collina FAMILY Saxifragaceae
COMMON NAME:
Escarpment Foamflower, Southern Foamflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA Forest Service / A Guide to Medicinal Plants of Appalachia. 1969 mpa_page_251
)
Harry Davis hld1511
March-April Oconee County SC
Oconee Station/Station Cove
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_239755528627522
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
5 white clawed elliptic petals and 10 conspicuously long stamens with apricot-colored anthers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_247719227633925
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
Flowering stem usually with 1-2 leaves or leaf-like bracts, per New Species of Foamflower (Nesom, 2022).
COMPARE
Alumroot, Foamflower, and Miterwort
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_627261869256633
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_777116654116609
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
Leaves usually with acute-acuminate lobes, terminal lobe prominently extended, per Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA (Nesom, 2021).
)
Ben Geer Keys bgk1511_a
April
Flowers borne in a terminal raceme [thus mature from the bottom up], per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm0404t_20
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm0404u_06
April Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm200422_4045
April Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
Keith Bradley kab_t_cordifolia_02869
April Polk County NC
Pearson's Falls
Flowers have 10 conspicuously long stamens with apricot-colored anthers, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Ron Lance rwl_tiarella_cordifolia
April Jackson County NC
)
JK Marlow jkm060521_169
May Macon County NC
Highlands Biological Station
Two collections with distinctive deeply lobed leaves have been made from Graham Co., NC, per Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA (Nesom, 2021).
)
JK Marlow jkm060521_182
May Macon County NC
Highlands Biological Station
Fruits are 2-valved capsules with persistent styles, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm160502_017
May Transylvania County NC
Both T. austrina and T. stolonifera have herbaceous, leafy stolons, per New Species of Foamflower (Nesom, 2022).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Tiarella austrina
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Taxonomy of Tiarella (Saxifragaceae) in the eastern USA (Nesom, 2021)
Tiarella austrina
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Tiarella cordifolia
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 094-12-001b?:
Tiarella cordifolia var. collina
FAMILY
Saxifragaceae
4801
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, cove forests, rock outcrops, well-drained bottomland forests, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Uncommon
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Simple
Basal & alternate (flowering stem usually with leaves or foliaceous bracts)
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Stoloniferous
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!
- All About South Carolina Wildflowers (Midgley, 1999) p174?
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p117?
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p022?
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p158?
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p145?
- 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?
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p452?
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p066?
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".