Tiarella cordifolia

Heartleaf foamflower
	Tiarella cordifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Saxifragales
Family:	Saxifragaceae
Genus:	Tiarella
Species:	T. cordifolia
Binomial name
	Tiarella cordifolia; L.
Subspecies
	T. c. var. austrina; T. c. var. collina; T. c. var. cordifolia
Synonyms
	Tiarella wherryi Lakela

Tiarella cordifolia, the heartleaf foamflower,^[1] heartleaved foamflower, Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, or coolwort, is a species of herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to North America.

Description

Tiarella cordifolia has a scaly horizontal rhizome and seasonal runners. The leaves are 5–10 cm (2–4 in) long, basal, long stalked, hairy, with 3-7 shallow lobes, and heart-shaped at the base. They are dark green usually mottled with brown, rough-hairy above and downy beneath. They have long flowering stems that can grow as tall as 30 cm (12 in). The flowers are white, small and feathery and form a long terminal cluster on a leafless stalk. The inflorescences are 15–30 cm (6–12 in) tall, with the flowers borne in close, erect racemes. The flowers have 5 petals (entire) and 10 stamens (long and slender), giving the flower cluster a fuzzy appearance. The two unequal seed capsules split along their inside seams, releasing several pitted seeds.

This tiarella spreads well by rhizomes, unlike other cultivated tiarellas, but lacks the invasive tendencies of many more-commonly employed groundcovers.

The flowers are visited by small bees, syrphus flies, and butterflies that may affect pollination.

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.^[2]

Origin of name

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.

Uses

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.

References

^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tiarella cordifolia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
^ "RHS Plant Selector Tiarella cordifolia AGM / RHS Gardening". Apps.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-16.

Blanchan, Neltje (2005). Wild Flowers Worth Knowing. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
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.

External links

Discoverlife.org

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[1] USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Tiarella cordifolia". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 10 December 2015.

[2] "RHS Plant Selector Tiarella cordifolia AGM / RHS Gardening". Apps.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2012-10-16.

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