Tiarella cordifolia
Tiarella cordifolia, the heart-leaved foamflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae. The specific name cordifolia means "with heart-shaped leaves", a characteristic shared by all taxa of Tiarella in eastern North America. It is also referred to as Allegheny foamflower, false miterwort, and coolwort.
Tiarella cordifolia | |
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Uwharrie National Forest, North Carolina, USA (16 April) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Saxifragaceae |
Genus: | Tiarella |
Species: | T. cordifolia |
Binomial name | |
Tiarella cordifolia | |
Synonyms | |
T. cordifolia s.s.
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Historically, the name Tiarella cordifolia has referred to the one and only species of Tiarella in eastern North America, but in 2021, the species was split into multiple taxa, which caused the name to have a different meaning. For clarity, the qualified name Tiarella cordifolia sensu stricto (abbreviated s.s.) refers to the new taxon while Tiarella cordifolia sensu lato refers to the old taxon.
Tiarella cordifolia sensu lato is wide-ranging across eastern North America while Tiarella cordifolia sensu stricto is narrowly confined to the East Coast of the United States. Cultivars of Tiarella are valued in horticulture for their erect stems of foamy cream-colored flowers.