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Common Foamflower
Tiarella cordifolia
35.6239, -82.2363
Field Notes
Description:
Tiarella cordifolia has 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 petals (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 mottled 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.
Habitat:
Cool, moist, deciduous woods; stream banks. This one was photographed along the trail to Moore Creek Falls in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, NC.
Notes:
It's also known as Heartleaf foamflower. The flowers are visited by small bees, syrphus flies, and butterflies that may affect pollination. This attractive wildflower, which spreads by underground stems, forms colonies, and makes excellent groundcover for shady, wooded sites. The tiny flowers and fine texture of the stamens resemble foam and account for the common name. The genus name is from the Greek tiara, designating a turban once worn by the Persians, and refers to the shape of the pistil.
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